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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cap — a lid
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. degree — an amount
  7. board — to get on
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wind — moving air
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. board — a committee
  12. cap — a hat
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. degree — from a university
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. snap — to click
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a music group
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cap — of ice
  23. band — a ring
  24. cabinet — ministers

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