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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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Word bank
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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: hide · rest · degree · cold · drill · staff

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. staff — a stick
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. drill — the tool
  10. degree — an amount
  11. drill — army training
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. rest — what's left
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rest — a break
  16. staff — employees
  17. rest — what's left
  18. staff — employees

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