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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · wind · straw · file · ruler · degree

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. file — a document
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. file — a tool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. file — a line of people
  11. firm — steady
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. degree — temperature
  18. firm — a company

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