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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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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: ball · perch · content · net · ruler · degree

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. content — happy
  4. degree — temperature
  5. perch — the fish
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. net — for catching
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ball — a great time
  14. net — after costs
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ball — a dance
  17. net — in sport
  18. ball — a round shape

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