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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: chair · degree · content · squash · object · pit · key · temple

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pit — a hole
  3. chair — a leader
  4. object — an aim
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. degree — an amount
  12. key — the most important part
  13. pit — in a race
  14. degree — from a university
  15. squash — the sport
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. key — for a lock
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. key — in music
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. object — a thing
  24. squash — to crush

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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