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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 124 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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. sharp — clever
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. degree — temperature
  7. content — happy
  8. degree — an amount
  9. kid — child
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. kid — to tease
  14. content — the amount
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cell — in biology
  17. toast — bread
  18. cell — a phone
  19. degree — from a university
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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