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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. staff — employees
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mug — a cup
  13. degree — temperature
  14. staff — employees
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bore — to drill
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mug — to rob
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. staff — a stick
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. mug — a face
  24. bore — to tire

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