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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: temple · track · pass · degree · rule · stem · cold · net

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. net — after costs
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cold — not warm
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rule — a law
  8. stem — to come from
  9. pass — a permit
  10. rule — government
  11. track — a song
  12. cold — an illness
  13. net — in sport
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. net — for catching
  17. track — a path
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. track — to keep track
  24. pass — to spend time

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