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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 116 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. bass — the fish
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. lie — to recline
  8. degree — temperature
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — to be able to
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pop — soda
  13. cold — an illness
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bass — low music
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — music
  21. degree — an amount
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. can — a tin
  24. pop — to visit

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