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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: can · cold · patient · degree · roll · cap · fine · content

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. content — the amount
  3. fine — all right
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. content — happy
  7. degree — temperature
  8. can — a tin
  9. roll — a list
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. roll — a cake
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. can — a tin
  16. degree — from a university
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. can — to be able to
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. degree — an amount

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