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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rush — hurry
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. squash — to crush
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. tube — the underground
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lean — thin
  18. squash — the sport
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. degree — temperature
  22. lean — to bend
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. tube — a container

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