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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cap — a lid
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fine — all right
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cap — a hat
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cap — of ice
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fine — high quality
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ball — a great time

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