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

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cold — an illness
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bass — low music
  8. cold — not warm
  9. can — a tin
  10. bass — the fish
  11. season — of the year
  12. can — to be able to
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. can — a tin
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. hand — in cards
  22. season — in sport
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. degree — temperature

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