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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: rash · cold · ball · leaves · bowl · mate · degree · tear

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rash — a series
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rash — hasty
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. mate — a friend
  18. ball — a great time
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. ball — a dance
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bowl — a football final

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