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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. current — happening now
  4. mark — a grade
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. hand — help
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. content — the amount
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. current — of water
  14. hand — in cards
  15. present — there
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. content — happy
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mark — a trace
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. current — electric

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