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

Word bank: degree · straw · deal · cold · stand · fall

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. degree — from a university
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fall — the season
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — to handle
  18. stand — to bear

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