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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 116 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pass — a permit
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. spring — the season
  7. mate — to breed
  8. content — the amount
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. degree — from a university
  11. swing — in golf
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. degree — temperature
  14. swing — music
  15. content — happy
  16. bank — for money
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bank — of a river
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bank — for money
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. kick — in football
  24. mate — a friend

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