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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. suit — in cards
  3. staff — a stick
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. degree — temperature
  7. court — for sport
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — thin
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cold — an illness
  12. staff — employees
  13. fall — the season
  14. court — of a king
  15. fall — to drop
  16. degree — an amount
  17. suit — clothes
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. court — of law
  20. staff — employees
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. degree — from a university
  24. suit — to fit

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