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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. degree — temperature
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. content — the amount
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. content — happy
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — from a university
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — a company
  15. spring — of water
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. spring — the season
  21. degree — an amount
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. spring — a coil
  24. firm — decided

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