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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. content — the amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. degree — an amount
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. bound — obliged
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mine — for digging
  12. spring — of water
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. vault — a safe
  18. content — happy
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. cue — for pool
  23. spring — the season
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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