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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: degree · mate · dip · content · field · pit · rest · ruler

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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. rest — a break
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. mate — to breed
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. field — a subject
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. field — farmland
  10. rest — what's left
  11. dip — to sink
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pit — in a race
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mate — a partner
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rest — what's left
  19. field — for sport
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. pit — a hole
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. mate — a friend
  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