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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: degree · swing · firm · temple · cold · toast · dip · bulb

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. swing — in golf
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. degree — an amount
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. degree — from a university
  7. toast — bread
  8. bulb — for light
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. swing — music
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. degree — temperature
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. firm — decided
  19. firm — a company
  20. bulb — for light
  21. swing — to play on
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. dip — to sink

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