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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 · cap · trunk

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

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cap — of ice
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. chest — a box
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cap — a lid
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. date — the fruit
  20. content — the amount
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — happy
  24. trunk — of a tree

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