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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. degree — an amount
  3. suit — to fit
  4. mug — a cup
  5. degree — from a university
  6. land — to come down
  7. suit — in cards
  8. content — the amount
  9. mug — a face
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. mug — to rob
  12. suit — clothes
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. land — a country
  16. content — happy
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chest — a box
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. face — part of the head

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