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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: bowl · content · temple · tear · degree · present

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. present — there
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. present — the time now
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tear — from crying
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. content — the amount
  12. tear — to rip
  13. present — a gift
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. tear — from crying
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship

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