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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. degree — from a university
  3. firm — decided
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stand — to bear
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. object — a thing
  11. firm — a company
  12. degree — temperature
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. object — an aim
  17. cold — not warm
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. cold — an illness
  22. firm — steady
  23. object — to protest
  24. bore — to drill

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