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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. game — wild animals
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. degree — temperature
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. degree — an amount
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. content — the amount
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. stand — to bear
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. degree — from a university
  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