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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. can — to be able to
  3. degree — temperature
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. degree — from a university
  7. kick — in football
  8. degree — an amount
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. can — a tin
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. file — a document
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. can — a tin
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. coach — a trainer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com