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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ball — a dance
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — part of the head
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rash — hasty
  14. content — the amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rash — a series
  20. content — happy
  21. squash — the sport
  22. face — to point toward
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rash — on the skin

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