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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. content — the amount
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. cell — in biology
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. pound — a weight
  11. branch — a division
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. content — happy
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cell — a phone
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cell — in a prison

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