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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fall — the season
  3. mine — for digging
  4. file — a line of people
  5. foot — a measure
  6. file — a document
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fall — to drop
  9. file — a tool
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. suit — in cards
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — clothes

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