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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. content — the amount
  2. last — final
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. last — to go on
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. net — in sport
  9. degree — an amount
  10. net — after costs
  11. degree — temperature
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. lie — to recline
  14. net — for catching
  15. tube — a container
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. content — happy
  22. last — finally
  23. tube — the underground
  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