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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. degree — temperature
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. wound — an injury
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cell — a phone
  18. degree — from a university
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stand — to bear
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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