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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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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 · bark · cue

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cue — a signal
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. tear — from crying
  8. present — there
  9. cue — for pool
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. present — a gift
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. present — the time now
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cue — a hint
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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