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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. sharp — clever
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. content — the amount
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. key — the most important part
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. degree — from a university
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — to bear
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. content — happy
  17. drill — the tool
  18. key — in music
  19. date — the fruit
  20. rock — a stone
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rock — music
  23. key — for a lock
  24. drill — army training

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