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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · degree · spell · mouse · chair · cold · firm · cap

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cap — a hat
  3. degree — an amount
  4. firm — decided
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. spell — letters
  10. degree — temperature
  11. firm — steady
  12. cap — a lid
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cold — an illness
  15. degree — from a university
  16. net — in sport
  17. cap — of ice
  18. spell — magic
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. firm — a company
  23. cold — not warm
  24. net — after costs

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