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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: content · date · cell · mate · bear · degree · stick · wind

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. content — the amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wind — moving air
  12. content — happy
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone
  19. date — the fruit
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. date — on the calendar

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