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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. hand — in cards
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spring — the season
  7. season — in sport
  8. spring — a coil
  9. key — the most important part
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. spring — of water
  13. bound — tied together
  14. key — for a lock
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — certain
  18. degree — an amount
  19. season — of the year
  20. stem — to come from
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cold — not warm
  24. key — in music

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