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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 116 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lean — thin
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. march — the month
  11. present — there
  12. bound — obliged
  13. march — music
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. march — the month
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — certain
  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