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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. current — happening now
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. content — the amount
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. content — happy
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fine — high quality
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. key — the most important part
  13. mate — a friend
  14. file — a line of people
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. mate — to breed
  17. current — electric
  18. fine — all right
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. key — for a lock
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. current — of water
  23. key — in music
  24. kid — child

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