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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cell — in biology
  4. deal — to handle
  5. band — a music group
  6. cue — a hint
  7. band — a ring
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cap — of ice
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cap — a lid
  13. degree — from a university
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cell — a phone
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. content — videos and posts

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