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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 116 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. pop — to visit
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. kick — in football
  7. object — an aim
  8. content — the amount
  9. band — a ring
  10. pop — music
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ground — the earth
  13. band — a music group
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. object — to protest
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bass — the fish
  19. object — a thing
  20. pop — soda
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. content — happy
  23. bass — low music
  24. ground — a position

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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