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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. degree — temperature
  3. track — a path
  4. degree — an amount
  5. content — the amount
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. content — happy
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. drill — the tool
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mug — a cup
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — the season
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a face
  18. track — a song
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. degree — from a university
  23. spring — of water
  24. content — videos and posts

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