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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 120 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fall — the season
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chair — a leader
  8. rest — a break
  9. cold — not warm
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fall — to drop
  12. firm — a company
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. firm — decided
  19. firm — steady
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. spring — of water
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rest — what's left
  24. spring — the season

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