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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 almost out of ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. key — in music
  4. date — the fruit
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pop — to visit
  7. last — final
  8. content — happy
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. last — to go on
  12. court — for sport
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. degree — from a university
  19. last — finally
  20. craft — a skill
  21. key — the most important part
  22. pop — music
  23. key — for a lock
  24. content — the amount

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