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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. can — to be able to
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. can — a tin
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. craft — boats
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. can — a tin
  24. patient — a sick person

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