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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: fall · net · degree · deal · last · rash · bound · cold

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. rash — hasty
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fall — the season
  7. last — to go on
  8. bound — tied together
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cold — not warm
  14. net — after costs
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. fall — to drop
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. bound — certain
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. rash — a series
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cold — an illness

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