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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. degree — temperature
  3. roll — a list
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. can — a tin
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. mark — a trace
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bear — the animal
  11. content — happy
  12. cold — not warm
  13. can — to be able to
  14. degree — from a university
  15. roll — a cake
  16. can — a tin
  17. content — the amount
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. deal — to handle
  24. mark — a grade

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