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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: straw · suit · shower · tear · present · degree · coach · chest

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. tear — to rip
  5. suit — to fit
  6. chest — a box
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. shower — to wash
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chest — of your body
  12. suit — in cards
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. suit — clothes
  18. shower — rain
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chest — of your body
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. present — there
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. present — a gift

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