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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. saw — the tool
  4. last — to go on
  5. degree — an amount
  6. object — a thing
  7. bulb — for light
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. last — final
  11. degree — temperature
  12. rock — music
  13. object — to protest
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rock — a stone
  19. land — a country
  20. bulb — for light
  21. last — finally
  22. content — happy
  23. object — an aim
  24. content — videos and posts

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