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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. degree — from a university
  5. net — for catching
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. content — happy
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. spell — a short time
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. degree — an amount
  14. race — the arms race
  15. present — the time now
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. spell — magic
  18. degree — temperature
  19. net — in sport
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. spell — letters
  24. net — after costs

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