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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. net — in sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. net — for catching
  9. date — the fruit
  10. degree — an amount
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. net — after costs
  13. fall — the season
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. degree — from a university
  17. toast — bread
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. wound — an injury
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wound — an injury

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