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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.

Words on the sheet
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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. firm — a company
  5. degree — an amount
  6. squash — to crush
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cold — not warm
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. degree — temperature
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. squash — the sport
  15. firm — decided
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chair — a leader
  20. firm — steady
  21. degree — from a university
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cold — an illness

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