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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rule · leaves · squash · straw · net · sharp · degree · kid

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. sharp — clever
  3. net — for catching
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. degree — temperature
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. degree — an amount
  9. squash — the sport
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. net — in sport
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. net — after costs
  14. squash — to crush
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. rule — government
  23. degree — from a university
  24. sharp — exactly

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