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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 my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. content — the amount
  3. club — for dancing
  4. game — a match
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. content — happy
  8. club — for golf
  9. dip — to sink
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. rush — hurry
  14. game — wild animals
  15. club — a group
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. degree — from a university
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. wind — moving air
  23. net — for catching
  24. wind — moving air

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