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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. ball — a dance
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. ball — a great time
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. date — the fruit
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. face — part of the head
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. degree — temperature
  15. content — happy
  16. chair — a leader
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. face — to confront
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. branch — a division
  22. content — the amount
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. face — to point toward

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