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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: ball · stand · degree · cold · rest · last · rush · chip

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. cold — not warm
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. degree — temperature
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rest — a break
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rest — what's left
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. chip — to eat
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rest — what's left

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