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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. mark — a trace
  2. file — a tool
  3. chest — a box
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. degree — an amount
  10. content — happy
  11. root — of a word
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. root — of a plant
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. root — the cause
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  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