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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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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 · deal · cold · chair · content · bowl · date · toast

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. degree — temperature
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. deal — to handle
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. chair — a leader
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. degree — an amount
  22. date — the fruit
  23. toast — bread
  24. deal — an agreement

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