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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
468
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: present · scale · stand · rash · bound · cold · degree · content

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. bound — certain
  2. cold — not warm
  3. present — there
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cold — an illness
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. scale — in music
  13. present — the time now
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bound — tied together
  16. rash — hasty
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. present — a gift
  20. bound — obliged
  21. content — happy
  22. stand — to bear
  23. content — the amount
  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