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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · content · spring · bound · scale · tear · ball · cell

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. scale — size or range
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ball — a dance
  5. content — the amount
  6. cell — in biology
  7. spring — the season
  8. bound — obliged
  9. ball — a great time
  10. tear — from crying
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bound — tied together
  14. content — happy
  15. tear — to rip
  16. scale — in music
  17. bound — certain
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. degree — from a university
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cell — a phone

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