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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. shower — rain
  9. staff — employees
  10. face — to confront
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. face — to point toward
  13. staff — employees
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cold — an illness
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. face — part of the head
  18. degree — temperature
  19. shower — to wash
  20. staff — a stick
  21. lean — thin
  22. degree — an amount
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. degree — from a university

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