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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mug — a face
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bound — certain
  6. race — a contest
  7. bound — obliged
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. mug — a cup
  12. degree — temperature
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. degree — from a university
  18. mug — to rob
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rush — hurry
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. cold — an illness

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