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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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468
Word bank
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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — in sport
  5. object — a thing
  6. cold — an illness
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. degree — an amount
  11. last — to go on
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pitch — completely
  15. dip — to sink
  16. object — an aim
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. object — to protest
  20. last — finally
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. degree — temperature
  23. last — final
  24. pitch — a sports field

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