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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: chest · bowl · hand · degree · racket · bear · content · cap

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. content — the amount
  7. hand — help
  8. content — happy
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. cap — a hat
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. degree — temperature
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. chest — of your body
  18. degree — from a university
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. degree — an amount
  22. chest — a box
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bear — the animal

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