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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 116 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: root · cold · degree · wind · staff · lean · lash · present

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. staff — a stick
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. present — there
  6. cold — an illness
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wind — moving air
  9. staff — employees
  10. root — of a plant
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. staff — employees
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cold — not warm
  15. root — of a word
  16. degree — from a university
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — a gift
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. root — the cause
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lash — an eyelash

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