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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: nail · press · degree · fan · pitch · straw · cell · mark

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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 — a phone
  3. press — to push
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. mark — a trace
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mark — a grade
  11. press — a publisher
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pitch — completely
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. cell — in biology
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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