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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. degree — from a university
  4. game — wild animals
  5. perch — the fish
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — the amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. club — for dancing
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. club — a group
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. pop — music
  19. club — for golf
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. band — a music group
  22. game — a match
  23. band — a ring
  24. content — happy

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