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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: present · degree · roll · bay · cold · swing · ball · lie

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. present — the time now
  4. lie — to recline
  5. roll — a list
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. degree — an amount
  20. ball — a dance
  21. roll — a cake
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. swing — music
  24. degree — temperature

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