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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. content — the amount
  3. cap — a hat
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rash — hasty
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. cap — of ice
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. content — happy
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cap — a lid
  19. rash — a series
  20. chest — a box
  21. ball — a great time
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ball — a dance

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