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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 116 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: bowl · leaves · object · chip · band · degree · content · bat

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. band — a music group
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bat — the animal
  6. content — happy
  7. object — a thing
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. object — an aim
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. band — a ring
  14. object — to protest
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. content — the amount
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. chip — for betting
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. chip — to eat
  24. bat — in an idiom

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