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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.

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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. degree — from a university
  5. current — of water
  6. degree — temperature
  7. press — newspapers
  8. degree — an amount
  9. press — a publisher
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — electric
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. content — the amount
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. press — to push
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. fan — a supporter

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