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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 120 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: straw · march · bay · degree · leaves · kick · stand · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. march — the month
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. march — music
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. stand — to bear
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. degree — temperature
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cold — not warm
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. kick — in football
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. degree — from a university
  24. march — the month

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