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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bulb — for light
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. content — happy
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. degree — from a university
  8. fine — high quality
  9. branch — a division
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. net — after costs
  17. bulb — for light
  18. net — in sport
  19. mug — to rob
  20. content — the amount
  21. mug — a face
  22. net — for catching
  23. mug — a cup
  24. fine — all right

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