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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: degree · snap · mate · cabinet · wind · straw

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mate — a partner
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mate — a friend
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mate — to breed
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wind — moving air
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. snap — to click
  18. cabinet — a cupboard

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