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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: cold · pass · ground · game · rule · trunk · degree · object

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. rule — government
  6. object — an aim
  7. cold — not warm
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pass — a permit
  10. degree — temperature
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. ground — a position
  15. game — wild animals
  16. ground — the earth
  17. object — a thing
  18. rule — a law
  19. ground — crushed
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. object — to protest
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. game — a match

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