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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lean — thin
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hand — help
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. pass — a permit
  15. lean — to bend
  16. degree — temperature
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. cold — an illness

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