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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: leaves · pit · straw · stand · degree · bay · cold · lean

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. cold — an illness
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pit — in a race
  13. stand — to bear
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. lean — to bend
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. lean — thin
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. pit — a hole
  24. straw — dry grass

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