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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: craft · rule · rest · mark · squash · degree · last · content

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. last — final
  3. content — the amount
  4. rest — what's left
  5. degree — an amount
  6. last — finally
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rule — a law
  9. craft — boats
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rule — government
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. content — happy
  18. rest — a break
  19. last — to go on
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. mark — a trace
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. craft — a skill

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