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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. content — happy
  4. field — for sport
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. wake — a trail
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — to bear
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. field — farmland
  16. degree — from a university
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. bear — the animal
  22. field — a subject
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bear — to put up with

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