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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. content — happy
  3. net — after costs
  4. fork — in a road
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. content — the amount
  8. degree — an amount
  9. object — an aim
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. tear — to rip
  13. net — in sport
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. degree — from a university
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. object — a thing
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. tear — from crying
  20. degree — temperature
  21. object — to protest
  22. board — a committee
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. net — for catching

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