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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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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 · bound · stock · degree · sharp · fall · pass · spell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. fall — the season
  7. sharp — clever
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bound — obliged
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. spell — letters
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bound — certain
  19. pass — a permit
  20. spell — magic
  21. fall — to drop
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. cold — an illness

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