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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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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: rest · rock · cold · degree · drill · stand · snap · suit

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. drill — army training
  3. suit — to fit
  4. drill — a practice
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. suit — clothes
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. suit — in cards
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rest — a break
  21. cold — not warm
  22. degree — an amount
  23. stand — to bear
  24. degree — temperature

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