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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · wave · cabinet · rule · content · spring · degree · staff

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — the amount
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rule — a law
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rule — government
  11. field — farmland
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. spring — the season
  15. field — for sport
  16. staff — a stick
  17. content — happy
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. staff — employees
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. field — a subject
  24. degree — from a university

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