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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: rest · safe · straw · shower · cap · board · mine · degree

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cap — of ice
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cap — a lid
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. board — to get on
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cap — a hat
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rest — what's left
  20. board — a committee
  21. rest — a break
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. shower — rain

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