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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. stock — shares
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. degree — an amount
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bulb — for light
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. content — the amount
  19. bulb — for light
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stock — goods
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. degree — from a university

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