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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. content — the amount
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. degree — from a university
  6. snap — to click
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. squash — the sport
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. content — happy
  16. fine — high quality
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pop — soda
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. pop — music
  21. squash — to crush
  22. degree — temperature
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. fine — all right

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