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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. mine — for digging
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. mark — a trace
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. prune — to trim
  14. content — happy
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. swing — in golf
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. swing — to play on
  21. mark — a grade
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. swing — music
  24. rush — hurry

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