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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. stand — to bear
  3. ground — a position
  4. rule — a law
  5. squash — the sport
  6. ground — crushed
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rule — government
  10. degree — temperature
  11. object — to protest
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. ground — the earth
  16. shower — rain
  17. squash — to crush
  18. shower — to wash
  19. object — a thing
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. straw — a straw man

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