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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 116 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. content — happy
  3. mark — a grade
  4. key — the most important part
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. degree — from a university
  7. spell — letters
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. mark — a trace
  10. degree — an amount
  11. content — the amount
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. spell — a short time
  15. key — for a lock
  16. dip — to sink
  17. key — in music
  18. degree — temperature

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