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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pop — to visit
  4. last — final
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. season — in sport
  7. content — the amount
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. content — happy
  10. rush — hurry
  11. degree — from a university
  12. last — to go on
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. squash — the sport
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. vault — a safe
  22. squash — to crush
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. last — finally

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