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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. stand — to bear
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. lean — to bend
  6. degree — temperature
  7. press — to push
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. press — a publisher
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. content — the amount
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bass — the fish
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. press — newspapers
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. lean — thin
  21. degree — an amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. bass — low music

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