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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. content — the amount
  4. degree — an amount
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. land — ground
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rest — what's left
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. content — happy
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. rest — a break
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. degree — temperature

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