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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. content — the amount
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a cup
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. degree — from a university
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. capital — a city
  14. band — a ring
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. tear — from crying
  17. board — to get on
  18. band — a music group
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. capital — money
  22. content — happy
  23. board — a committee
  24. tear — to rip

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