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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 116 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: scale · rock · kick · content · spring · degree · tube · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. degree — from a university
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. tube — the underground
  7. rock — music
  8. degree — temperature
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bear — the animal
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. rock — a stone
  14. spring — of water
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. spring — a coil
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. tube — a container
  20. spring — the season
  21. scale — in music
  22. bear — the animal
  23. degree — an amount
  24. kick — in football

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