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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bore — to tire
  4. rule — government
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. content — happy
  7. craft — a skill
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. content — the amount
  10. cold — not warm
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. rule — a law
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. squash — to crush
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cold — an illness
  19. degree — an amount
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bore — to drill
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. craft — boats

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