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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 116 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: hand · snap · straw · degree · cell · ruler · hide · mouse

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. cell — in biology
  8. degree — from a university
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. cell — a phone
  12. degree — temperature
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. snap — to click
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. hand — help
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. hide — to keep secret

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