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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · stick · chair · nail · track · rash · degree · date

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. date — the fruit
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. track — a path
  9. degree — an amount
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rash — a series
  17. track — to keep track
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rash — hasty
  23. track — a song
  24. degree — temperature

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