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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: wind · racket · arm · fork · rock · object · degree · content

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. content — happy
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rock — music
  13. object — to protest
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. degree — an amount
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. object — a thing
  18. fork — in a road
  19. degree — temperature
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wind — moving air
  22. content — the amount
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. object — an aim

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