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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: object · squash · degree · temple · cold · cap · net · toast

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. object — to protest
  4. cold — an illness
  5. net — for catching
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. object — a thing
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cold — not warm
  12. degree — an amount
  13. squash — to crush
  14. net — in sport
  15. squash — the sport
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. degree — temperature
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cap — a hat
  21. object — an aim
  22. cap — of ice
  23. net — after costs
  24. temple — side of the head

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