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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 always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. net — after costs
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mug — to rob
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — a weight
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mug — a face
  12. net — for catching
  13. mug — a cup
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. degree — from a university
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. degree — an amount
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. net — in sport
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  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