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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. ground — the earth
  5. degree — from a university
  6. row — a line
  7. last — to go on
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bank — of a river
  10. rule — a law
  11. bank — for money
  12. degree — an amount
  13. content — happy
  14. last — finally
  15. ground — a position
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bank — for money
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. row — to paddle
  21. content — the amount
  22. stand — to bear
  23. rule — government
  24. last — final

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