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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. land — ground
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. march — music
  7. staff — a stick
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. firm — a company
  12. march — the month
  13. staff — employees
  14. land — to come down
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rock — music
  19. staff — employees
  20. degree — temperature
  21. firm — steady
  22. firm — decided
  23. march — the month
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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