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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 120 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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chest — of your body
  4. suit — in cards
  5. pop — soda
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — a series
  8. suit — to fit
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. content — happy
  11. chest — a box
  12. pop — music
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. content — the amount
  17. rash — hasty
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. foot — a measure
  24. pop — to visit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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