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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. band — a music group
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. degree — temperature
  7. shower — to wash
  8. clip — for paper
  9. club — for golf
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. shower — rain
  13. degree — an amount
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. band — a ring
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for dancing
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. face — to point toward
  20. clip — a video
  21. degree — from a university
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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