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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fine — all right
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. object — to protest
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. drill — a practice
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. object — a thing
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. row — a line
  13. row — to paddle
  14. object — an aim
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. drill — the tool
  17. degree — temperature
  18. lie — to recline
  19. cap — a lid
  20. drill — army training
  21. fine — high quality
  22. cap — a hat
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. straw — dry grass

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