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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. object — a thing
  3. pit — a hole
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pit — in a race
  6. degree — an amount
  7. band — a music group
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. degree — from a university
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mug — to rob
  12. object — to protest
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mug — a cup
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cold — an illness
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. band — a ring
  23. mug — a face
  24. object — an aim

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