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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: straw · bay · leaves · ruler · kick · degree · lean · file

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. file — a tool
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. kick — in football
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. lean — thin
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lean — to bend
  18. file — a line of people
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. degree — temperature
  23. file — a document
  24. straw — a straw man

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