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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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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: ball · mark · degree · dip · lean · cold · wound · ground

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. ground — the earth
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. lean — to bend
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ground — crushed
  9. wound — an injury
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lean — thin
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. ground — a position
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. mark — a grade

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