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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 120 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: stick · content · degree · spell · tube · mate · wind · pitch

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. mate — a friend
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. tube — the underground
  9. degree — from a university
  10. tube — a container
  11. degree — temperature
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pitch — completely
  19. mate — a partner
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. mate — to breed
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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