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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. bound — certain
  6. fall — to drop
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. fall — to drop
  10. content — happy
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — obliged
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fall — the season
  23. pit — in a race
  24. content — the amount

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