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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bank — for money
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. firm — decided
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. content — the amount
  9. club — for dancing
  10. degree — an amount
  11. content — happy
  12. firm — a company
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bank — of a river
  15. kick — in football
  16. bank — for money
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. degree — from a university
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. firm — steady

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