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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. charge — a price
  6. degree — an amount
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. kid — to tease
  9. row — to paddle
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. content — the amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. charge — in control
  14. degree — from a university
  15. press — to push
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. press — newspapers
  18. charge — electricity
  19. row — a line
  20. kid — child
  21. press — a publisher
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. safe — out of danger

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