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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bass — low music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. degree — from a university
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bass — the fish
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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