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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: degree · roll · wake · fork · content · game · bear · band

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. game — wild animals
  3. content — happy
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. band — a music group
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. roll — a cake
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. roll — a list
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wake — a trail
  19. game — a match
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. roll — on a roll

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