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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 120 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: mug · last · stick · degree · straw · race · shower · capital

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. capital — a city
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. mug — to rob
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. last — to go on
  7. race — a contest
  8. shower — to wash
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. degree — temperature
  13. capital — money
  14. race — humankind
  15. mug — a cup
  16. last — finally
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. shower — rain
  20. mug — a face
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. race — the arms race

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