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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 · present · straw · cold · cell · toast · lean · ball

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. present — there
  6. cold — not warm
  7. degree — temperature
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cell — a phone
  11. ball — a dance
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. present — a gift
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lean — to bend
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ball — a great time
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. present — the time now
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lean — thin
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. toast — bread

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