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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: wind · cold · mark · stem · degree · safe · toast · bore

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bore — to tire
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stem — to come from
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. degree — an amount
  19. toast — bread
  20. wind — moving air
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. cold — an illness
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. bore — to drill

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