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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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. field — farmland
  4. content — happy
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. prune — to trim
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — music
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. field — for sport
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. content — the amount
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. degree — temperature
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. vault — a safe
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. field — a subject
  23. degree — from a university
  24. coach — a trainer

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