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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. content — the amount
  4. dip — to sink
  5. degree — an amount
  6. kid — to tease
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. rest — a break
  13. degree — from a university
  14. content — happy
  15. cap — a lid
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mug — to rob
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mug — a face
  20. kid — child
  21. mug — a cup
  22. rest — what's left
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cap — a hat

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