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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: cap · deal · degree · bound · season · straw · fork · cold

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cap — a lid
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. deal — to handle
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cold — not warm
  7. season — in sport
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cold — an illness
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cap — of ice
  16. season — of the year
  17. fork — in a road
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bound — obliged

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