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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.

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: cabinet · rest · cold · scale · ground · degree · mate · row

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rest — a break
  4. cold — not warm
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cold — an illness
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mate — a friend
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cold — the Cold War

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