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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: spell · mouse · race · cabinet · degree · cold · jam · fan

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. spell — letters
  4. degree — temperature
  5. spell — magic
  6. race — humankind
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. race — the arms race
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. degree — an amount
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. race — a contest

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