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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. degree — temperature
  6. press — to push
  7. degree — from a university
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. stand — to bear
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. roll — a list
  12. content — happy
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. roll — a cake
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. mate — a friend
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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