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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pop — soda
  4. lean — to bend
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rock — a stone
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. stem — to come from
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rock — music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pop — music
  24. lean — thin

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