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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. content — the amount
  4. court — of law
  5. degree — an amount
  6. court — for sport
  7. suit — clothes
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. degree — from a university
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. suit — to fit
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. suit — in cards
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. degree — temperature
  19. court — of a king
  20. dip — to sink
  21. chair — a leader
  22. content — happy
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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