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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. chip — to eat
  5. can — a tin
  6. content — the amount
  7. rock — a stone
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pass — a permit
  11. band — a ring
  12. bore — to drill
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. rock — music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bore — gave birth

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