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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: cabinet · straw · cell · rock · kick · degree · fork · saw

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. degree — an amount
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. cell — in biology
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. fork — in a road
  19. kick — in football
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rock — a stone
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cell — in a prison

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