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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. tear — from crying
  4. degree — temperature
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lean — to bend
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — not warm
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. lean — thin
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pit — a hole
  14. saw — the tool
  15. degree — from a university
  16. tear — to rip
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pit — in a race
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. degree — an amount
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. saw — the tool

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