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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. firm — decided
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. firm — a company
  6. game — a match
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. content — happy
  11. board — to get on
  12. key — in music
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. ball — a dance
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. pound — a weight
  17. firm — steady
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ball — a great time
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. board — a committee
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. ball — a round shape

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