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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ruler · bowl · content · date · degree · chest

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. degree — temperature
  3. content — the amount
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. chest — a box
  13. content — happy
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. chest — of your body

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