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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cold — an illness
  3. tube — the underground
  4. degree — temperature
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. degree — an amount
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bank — of a river
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mug — a cup
  12. capital — a city
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. tube — a container
  17. bank — for money
  18. capital — money
  19. bank — for money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mug — a face
  24. nail — for a hammer

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