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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. track — to keep track
  3. content — happy
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. degree — from a university
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. perch — the fish
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cold — an illness
  10. degree — an amount
  11. track — a song
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. track — a path
  17. degree — temperature
  18. content — the amount
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — a strongbox

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