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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — an illness
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. net — in sport
  7. fall — the season
  8. cold — not warm
  9. net — after costs
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cell — a phone
  12. net — for catching
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. degree — from a university
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bulb — for light
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fall — to drop
  22. staff — a stick
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fall — to drop

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