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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: mine · date · spring · wave · degree · content · lie · sharp

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. content — happy
  8. degree — temperature
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. spring — a coil
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. spring — the season
  16. lie — to recline
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. content — the amount
  21. spring — of water
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. date — the fruit

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