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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. rest — a break
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. can — a tin
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cold — not warm
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. cold — the Cold War

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