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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: degree · snap · stick · march · dip · wind · cap · straw

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. dip — to sink
  4. degree — temperature
  5. march — music
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. snap — to click
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cap — a lid
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. march — the month
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cap — of ice
  17. march — the month
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cap — a hat
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. degree — from a university

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