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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. degree — an amount
  3. staff — a stick
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. staff — employees
  6. shower — rain
  7. rush — hurry
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. race — a contest
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. shower — to wash
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. staff — employees
  19. race — humankind
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. race — the arms race
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rush — a thrill

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