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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. swing — in golf
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. ground — crushed
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. degree — from a university
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. swing — to play on
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. swing — music
  18. content — the amount
  19. ground — a position
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cap — a lid
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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