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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 116 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. degree — from a university
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cold — an illness
  8. board — a committee
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mate — a partner
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mate — a friend
  14. key — for a lock
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. board — to get on
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. key — the most important part
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. board — a flat piece

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