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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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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 · cold · scale · kick · cell · degree · pound · current

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. degree — temperature
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cell — a phone
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. current — happening now
  9. present — a gift
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. current — of water
  13. scale — size or range
  14. kick — in football
  15. present — the time now
  16. current — electric
  17. cold — not warm
  18. scale — in music
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. present — there
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. kick — with a leg

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