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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pop · stand · degree · tear · bat · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bat — the animal
  7. lean — thin
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. lean — to bend
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stand — to bear
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pop — soda
  17. tear — to rip
  18. degree — from a university

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