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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 · last · firm · fall · mug · degree · chair · pit

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mug — a face
  3. pit — in a race
  4. degree — temperature
  5. firm — a company
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pit — a hole
  11. last — to go on
  12. fall — the season
  13. last — finally
  14. mug — a cup
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. firm — steady
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. chair — a leader
  19. mug — to rob
  20. last — final
  21. cold — not warm
  22. degree — from a university
  23. fall — to drop
  24. firm — decided

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