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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.

Words on the sheet
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: leaves · last · spring · bay · press · degree · foot · cold

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cold — not warm
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. spring — of water
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. spring — the season
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cold — an illness
  11. last — finally
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. press — to push
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. degree — from a university
  18. spring — a coil
  19. last — final
  20. degree — temperature
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. foot — a measure
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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