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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rest — a break
  4. land — a country
  5. content — the amount
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. content — happy
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rest — what's left

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