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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.

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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: degree · racket · wake · pass · cold · cell · craft · hide

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. cell — in biology
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cold — an illness
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cell — a phone
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pass — a permit
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. hide — to keep secret

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