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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rock — music
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. degree — temperature
  7. content — the amount
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. bound — tied together
  10. sharp — clever
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. degree — an amount
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. content — happy
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. rock — a stone

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