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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. march — music
  4. cold — not warm
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cold — an illness
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. content — the amount
  10. can — to be able to
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. can — a tin
  14. stem — to come from
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. content — happy
  22. deal — to handle
  23. wind — moving air
  24. march — the month

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