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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. content — happy
  4. wound — an injury
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wound — an injury
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. degree — temperature
  11. saw — the tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. saw — the tool
  16. content — the amount
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kid — to tease
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. arm — a part of something

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