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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 116 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wake — a trail
  3. degree — an amount
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. band — a music group
  7. ball — a great time
  8. degree — from a university
  9. content — happy
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. land — to come down
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. land — ground
  19. band — a ring
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. lie — to recline
  22. content — the amount
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. land — a country

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