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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 124 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mark — a trace
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. lean — thin
  7. degree — from a university
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lean — to bend
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. ball — a dance
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cue — for pool
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cold — an illness
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. degree — temperature

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