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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bear — the animal
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. bear — the animal
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. land — to come down
  8. degree — an amount
  9. club — for dancing
  10. degree — temperature
  11. land — ground
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. degree — from a university
  17. content — the amount
  18. land — a country
  19. club — for golf
  20. net — for catching
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. club — a group

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