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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. content — the amount
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. content — happy
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bark — to shout
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bulb — for light

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