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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: rest · leaves · degree · current · tear · cue · shower · cold

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cue — a hint
  3. current — electric
  4. rest — what's left
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cue — for pool
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. degree — from a university
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cold — an illness
  12. current — happening now
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cold — not warm
  15. current — of water
  16. tear — to rip
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. shower — rain
  20. rest — a break
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cue — a signal

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