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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. content — the amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. band — a ring
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. drill — the tool
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. drill — army training
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. capital — a city
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. content — happy
  22. band — a music group
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bass — low music

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