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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. charge — in control
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wind — moving air
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. file — a line of people
  10. degree — from a university
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. stock — goods
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — electricity
  17. degree — an amount
  18. last — to go on
  19. file — a tool
  20. stock — shares
  21. wind — moving air
  22. degree — temperature
  23. content — happy
  24. content — the amount

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