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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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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: content · chip · season · present · bear · drill · lie · degree

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. present — a gift
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. content — happy
  9. season — in sport
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bear — the animal
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chip — to eat
  16. present — there
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. content — the amount
  20. chip — for betting
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. present — the time now
  24. chip — in a computer

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