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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. vault — a safe
  6. content — the amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. spell — letters
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. spell — magic
  15. degree — temperature
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bark — to shout
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. spell — a short time
  20. content — happy
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. stem — to come from
  24. temple — a place of worship

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