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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. degree — an amount
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. degree — temperature
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. charge — electricity
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. drill — the tool
  10. band — a music group
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. drill — a practice
  13. lie — to recline
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — in control
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. degree — from a university
  21. band — a ring
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. drill — army training

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