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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. degree — temperature
  4. present — a gift
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. pass — a permit
  8. ball — a great time
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. present — there
  14. bass — low music
  15. stand — to bear
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. present — the time now
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. degree — from a university

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