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

Word bank: straw · degree · rest · club · race · mug

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mug — a face
  3. rest — a break
  4. degree — an amount
  5. club — a group
  6. degree — from a university
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. race — the arms race
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. club — for golf
  11. mug — a cup
  12. race — humankind
  13. club — for dancing
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rest — what's left
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mug — to rob

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