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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mark · game · prune · degree · bore · lie · cold · firm

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. firm — a company
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mark — a trace
  5. game — a match
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. degree — temperature
  9. game — wild animals
  10. firm — steady
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — to drill
  15. lie — to recline
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. degree — from a university
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. firm — decided
  23. degree — an amount
  24. game — a kind of play

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