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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: pop · fall · roll · fine · degree · cell · sharp · stand

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. degree — temperature
  3. roll — a cake
  4. fall — the season
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pop — to visit
  7. fine — all right
  8. roll — a list
  9. fall — to drop
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. stand — to bear
  12. fine — high quality
  13. pop — soda
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pop — music
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. degree — from a university
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. cell — in biology
  24. degree — an amount

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