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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: fine · nail · straw · rule · board · degree · saw · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rule — government
  3. degree — from a university
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. board — to get on
  10. fine — high quality
  11. rule — a law
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cold — not warm
  15. saw — the tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. saw — the tool
  19. board — a committee
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. fine — all right
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. degree — temperature

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