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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: rash · game · wake · degree · wind · foot · rush · cold

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rash — hasty
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wake — a trail
  10. foot — a measure
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rash — a series
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rush — hurry
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wind — moving air
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. degree — temperature
  23. game — a match
  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