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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: dip · bark · content · bulb · coach · cold · key · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. key — the most important part
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bulb — for light
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bark — to shout
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. key — in music
  12. degree — from a university
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bulb — for light
  19. content — happy
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. key — for a lock
  23. content — the amount
  24. dip — to sink

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