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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bark — to shout
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. court — for sport
  6. game — wild animals
  7. degree — an amount
  8. court — of a king
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. game — a match
  11. court — of law
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. object — a thing
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. object — an aim
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. content — the amount
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. scale — in music
  23. content — happy
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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