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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: bay · kick · lean · chest · fine · degree · coach · squash

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. lean — thin
  2. degree — an amount
  3. squash — to crush
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. chest — a box
  6. kick — in football
  7. squash — the sport
  8. fine — high quality
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. fine — all right
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. degree — temperature
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  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