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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. degree — temperature
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. content — happy
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bound — tied together
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. staff — employees
  16. can — to be able to
  17. staff — employees
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bound — certain
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. staff — a stick
  24. content — videos and posts

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