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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
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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: mug · staff · cold · degree · kick · drill · leaves · bowl

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. drill — the tool
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. drill — army training
  11. cold — not warm
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mug — a face
  15. staff — a stick
  16. kick — in football
  17. mug — a cup
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. drill — a practice
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mug — to rob
  23. cold — an illness
  24. staff — employees

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