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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. spring — a coil
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. spring — the season
  7. wake — a trail
  8. shower — rain
  9. content — the amount
  10. court — of a king
  11. shower — to wash
  12. firm — steady
  13. spring — of water
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. court — for sport
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. firm — decided
  19. content — happy
  20. degree — an amount
  21. vault — a safe
  22. court — of law
  23. firm — a company
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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