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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mug — a face
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. degree — temperature
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mug — to rob
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. spring — of water
  11. mug — a cup
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. spring — the season
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spring — a coil

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