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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. degree — an amount
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. degree — from a university
  5. dip — to sink
  6. date — the fruit
  7. degree — temperature
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. race — a contest
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tube — a container
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — an illness
  17. race — humankind
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. deal — to handle
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tube — the underground
  24. race — the arms race

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