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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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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: patient · chest · row · club · straw · mouse · spell · degree

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. chest — a box
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. spell — magic
  6. club — for golf
  7. spell — letters
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. spell — a short time
  16. chest — of your body
  17. degree — from a university
  18. row — a line
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chest — of your body

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