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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. deal — to handle
  5. degree — from a university
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. band — a music group
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — an amount
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. file — a tool
  15. degree — temperature
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. band — a ring
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rush — hurry
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. file — a document

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