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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. ground — a position
  7. plane — a tool
  8. rock — a stone
  9. degree — temperature
  10. band — a music group
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cell — a phone
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. rock — music
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. ground — crushed
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. band — a ring
  22. content — happy
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cell — in biology

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