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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: present · straw · row · pitcher · degree · rule · mine · stand

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. rule — a law
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. degree — from a university
  7. present — there
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. present — a gift
  10. mine — for digging
  11. present — the time now
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stand — to bear
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. degree — temperature
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rule — government

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