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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. game — wild animals
  7. fine — high quality
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. degree — from a university
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — an amount
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. deal — to handle
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. degree — temperature
  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