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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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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: bowl · straw · present · cap · drill · degree

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cap — a lid
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. drill — army training
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. present — a gift
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. present — there
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. present — the time now
  18. straw — a straw man

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