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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 120 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: land · ground · degree · rest · deal · craft · cue · cold

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ground — a position
  5. land — to come down
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. land — a country
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. craft — a skill
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. craft — boats
  18. rest — a break
  19. cue — for pool
  20. rest — what's left
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. land — ground
  24. deal — to handle

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