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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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. suit — to fit
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. lean — to bend
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. race — the arms race
  11. suit — clothes
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. cold — not warm
  14. race — a contest
  15. cold — an illness
  16. degree — from a university
  17. content — the amount
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. suit — in cards
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. race — humankind
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lean — thin
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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