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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. firm — decided
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. march — the month
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. firm — a company
  13. row — a line
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. content — the amount
  18. march — the month
  19. deal — to handle
  20. firm — steady
  21. march — music
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. deal — an agreement

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