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

Word bank: hand · snap · straw · degree · cell · ruler

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cell — in biology
  3. degree — from a university
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. hand — in cards
  8. degree — temperature
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. hand — help
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. degree — an amount
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cell — a phone
  17. snap — to click
  18. ruler — for measuring

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