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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: wake · dip · content · ruler · field · band · degree · pop

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pop — soda
  7. field — a subject
  8. degree — an amount
  9. field — farmland
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pop — to visit
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. content — the amount
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. degree — from a university
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wake — a trail
  18. field — for sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. pop — music
  24. ruler — for measuring

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