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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pop — soda
  3. spring — of water
  4. pop — to visit
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. board — a committee
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rush — hurry
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. degree — temperature
  11. content — the amount
  12. pop — music
  13. spring — the season
  14. fork — in a road
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. degree — from a university
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. board — to get on
  21. content — happy
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. fork — a garden tool

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