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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · press · degree · cold · content · roll · cabinet · rest

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. content — happy
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. roll — a cake
  13. rest — what's left
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — the amount
  16. press — newspapers
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. cold — not warm
  19. press — to push
  20. press — a publisher
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. roll — a list
  24. rest — a break

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