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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. snap — to click
  5. object — an aim
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. dip — to sink
  8. toast — bread
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. content — the amount
  12. degree — an amount
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. band — a music group
  15. object — to protest
  16. game — wild animals
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. degree — temperature
  19. object — a thing
  20. degree — from a university
  21. game — a match
  22. content — happy
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. band — a rubber band

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