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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 120 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. degree — an amount
  3. drill — a practice
  4. content — the amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. drill — the tool
  7. lie — to recline
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. degree — from a university
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. content — happy
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. dip — to sink
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. drill — army training
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. lie — an untruth

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