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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. drill — a practice
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. drill — the tool
  10. mug — a cup
  11. drill — army training
  12. mug — a face
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. tear — to rip
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mug — to rob
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. calf — a young animal

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