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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rest — a break
  3. cold — an illness
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rest — what's left
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. lean — thin
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. cold — not warm

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