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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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468
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 · degree · present · bat · lean · staff · cold · stick

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. lean — to bend
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cold — an illness
  9. staff — employees
  10. degree — an amount
  11. present — the time now
  12. staff — a stick
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. lean — thin
  15. present — there
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pop — music
  20. staff — employees
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. present — a gift
  24. cold — the Cold War

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