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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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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: mark · straw · stand · wound · degree · chest · deal · pitch

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mark — a grade
  4. stand — to bear
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chest — a box
  8. deal — to handle
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitch — completely
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. wound — an injury
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. degree — an amount
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. stand — on your feet

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