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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. spell — letters
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. degree — temperature
  9. can — a tin
  10. current — happening now
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. degree — from a university
  14. spell — magic
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. current — of water
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. content — the amount
  19. can — a tin
  20. spell — a short time
  21. current — electric
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. spring — a coil
  24. can — to be able to

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