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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.

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: cold · chair · rash · degree · wound · mug · drill · bowl

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rash — a series
  3. drill — army training
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mug — a face
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — hasty
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cold — an illness
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mug — a cup
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mug — to rob
  24. degree — temperature

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