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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. stand — to bear
  3. degree — temperature
  4. tube — the underground
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. press — newspapers
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ground — crushed
  17. lean — thin
  18. ground — a position
  19. lean — to bend
  20. press — a publisher
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. ground — the earth
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. press — to push

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