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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. object — an aim
  5. content — happy
  6. court — for sport
  7. roll — a cake
  8. firm — steady
  9. court — of a king
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. firm — decided
  12. court — of law
  13. roll — a list
  14. firm — a company
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. spell — letters
  17. object — a thing
  18. spell — magic
  19. content — the amount
  20. object — to protest
  21. degree — temperature
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. spell — a short time

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