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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: cap · stem · spell · can · game · cold · hide · degree

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. degree — an amount
  3. spell — letters
  4. cap — of ice
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. game — a match
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cap — a lid
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — temperature
  12. spell — magic
  13. cap — a hat
  14. spell — a short time
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. can — to be able to
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. degree — from a university
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. can — a tin

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