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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: degree · bore · cap · cue · bear · bowl · last · content

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. content — happy
  3. degree — temperature
  4. last — final
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cue — a hint
  8. degree — an amount
  9. last — finally
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. last — to go on
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cap — a lid
  18. content — the amount
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. cue — a signal

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