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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mate — a partner
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. content — the amount
  8. toast — bread
  9. content — happy
  10. current — of water
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. dip — to sink
  13. degree — from a university
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. mate — a friend
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. mate — to breed
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. current — electric
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. current — happening now

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