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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cap — a hat
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. degree — temperature
  9. tube — the underground
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cap — of ice
  12. content — happy
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cell — in biology
  17. spell — a short time
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — in a road
  20. cap — a lid
  21. tube — a container
  22. content — the amount
  23. bank — of a river
  24. cell — in a prison

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