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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. net — in sport
  6. content — the amount
  7. squash — to crush
  8. degree — an amount
  9. squash — the sport
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — music
  12. content — happy
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. net — for catching
  15. bear — the animal
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. pop — soda
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. degree — temperature
  22. net — after costs
  23. bear — the animal
  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