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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: straw · leaves · wind · chest · degree · court · hide · current

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chest — of your body
  5. degree — from a university
  6. current — electric
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chest — a box
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. degree — temperature
  16. current — happening now
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. court — of a king
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. current — of water
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. leaves — to go away

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