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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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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: squash · hand · cap · sharp · saw · straw · degree · bear

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. squash — to crush
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. sharp — clever
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bear — the animal
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bear — the animal
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. hand — in cards
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. squash — the sport
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bear — to put up with

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