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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. degree — from a university
  3. content — the amount
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. degree — temperature
  6. content — happy
  7. key — in music
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. foot — a measure
  13. court — for sport
  14. key — the most important part
  15. track — a song
  16. court — of law
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. track — a path
  22. court — of a king
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. key — for a lock

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