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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. saw — the tool
  6. content — the amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. saw — the tool
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. degree — an amount
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wake — a trail
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. row — a line
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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