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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. cap — a hat
  5. degree — temperature
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. last — to go on
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bound — tied together
  10. squash — the sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cap — a lid
  15. content — happy
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bound — certain
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. craft — boats
  20. cap — of ice
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bound — obliged
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the vegetable

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