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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: lie · degree · staff · cold · board · content · fork · tube

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. tube — a container
  3. board — a committee
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. content — the amount
  9. lie — to recline
  10. staff — employees
  11. content — happy
  12. staff — a stick
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. tube — the underground
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fork — in a road
  17. staff — employees
  18. cold — not warm
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cold — an illness
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. content — videos and posts

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