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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 116 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: rush · degree · pass · spring · cold · last · deal · charge

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. rush — hurry
  4. charge — in control
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. last — to go on
  7. charge — a price
  8. deal — to handle
  9. cold — not warm
  10. last — finally
  11. degree — from a university
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. degree — temperature
  18. spring — the season
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pass — a permit
  21. charge — electricity
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. last — final

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