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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. degree — an amount
  3. land — a country
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mate — to breed
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. land — ground
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cold — not warm
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rest — what's left
  12. land — to come down
  13. mate — a partner
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. lean — to bend
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. rest — a break
  21. lean — thin
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. rest — what's left

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