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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: stick · straw · tear · lie · snap · kid · mug · degree

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. snap — to click
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. mug — a cup
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. lie — to recline
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. tear — from crying
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mug — to rob

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