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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.

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: present · kid · cold · degree · staff · squash · leaves · rash

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — there
  3. kid — to tease
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. degree — an amount
  6. staff — employees
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. squash — to crush
  11. staff — a stick
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kid — child
  14. present — a gift
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. degree — temperature
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. staff — employees
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cold — an illness
  24. squash — the sport

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