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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. content — the amount
  4. club — for dancing
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cell — in biology
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bass — the fish
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. club — a group
  11. content — happy
  12. bass — low music
  13. club — for golf
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. cell — a phone
  24. mark — a grade

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