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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 120 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — in sport
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cold — not warm
  11. net — for catching
  12. squash — to crush
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. degree — from a university
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. squash — the sport
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. degree — an amount

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