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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cap — of ice
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cold — an illness
  5. degree — from a university
  6. squash — the sport
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cold — not warm
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cap — a hat
  15. track — a path
  16. track — a song
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. can — a tin
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cap — a lid
  22. can — a tin
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. can — to be able to

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