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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. degree — temperature
  3. net — in sport
  4. key — the most important part
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. key — for a lock
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cell — in biology
  10. key — in music
  11. chip — to eat
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. content — happy
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cell — a phone
  17. net — for catching
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. content — the amount
  21. rock — a stone
  22. net — after costs
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. content — videos and posts

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