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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bank — for money
  9. cap — a lid
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bank — for money
  12. dip — to sink
  13. bank — of a river
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rash — a series
  17. sharp — clever
  18. degree — an amount

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