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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cap — a lid
  5. net — in sport
  6. content — the amount
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cap — a hat
  9. firm — decided
  10. rest — what's left
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rest — a break
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cap — of ice
  17. rest — what's left
  18. squash — the sport
  19. net — after costs
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. content — happy
  22. firm — a company
  23. degree — from a university
  24. net — for catching

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