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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. object — an aim
  3. degree — from a university
  4. object — a thing
  5. bank — for money
  6. board — to get on
  7. object — to protest
  8. suit — clothes
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. content — the amount
  12. suit — to fit
  13. degree — temperature
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bank — of a river
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wound — an injury
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. suit — in cards
  21. bank — for money
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wound — an injury
  24. board — a committee

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