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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bound — certain
  5. cold — an illness
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bound — tied together
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bound — obliged
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. degree — temperature
  17. season — in sport
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. degree — an amount
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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