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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 120 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
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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: wind · degree · charge · bank · bound · staff · ground · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. staff — employees
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wind — moving air
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ground — a position
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. staff — a stick
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bound — certain
  16. bank — for money
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — electricity
  19. wind — moving air
  20. charge — in control
  21. bound — tied together
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bound — obliged
  24. 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