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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. content — the amount
  6. game — a match
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. bank — for money
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — a list
  16. field — farmland
  17. date — the fruit
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. degree — an amount
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bank — of a river

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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