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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. degree — temperature
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ground — a position
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. mug — a cup
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. mug — a face
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. ground — the earth
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bore — to tire
  19. degree — from a university
  20. toast — bread
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. mug — to rob
  23. bore — to drill
  24. ground — crushed

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