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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. content — the amount
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. stand — to bear
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. content — happy
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. march — the month
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stand — for spectators

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