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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. content — happy
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spell — letters
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. current — happening now
  8. scale — in music
  9. current — electric
  10. object — a thing
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. craft — a skill
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. scale — size or range
  18. craft — boats
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. cold — an illness
  21. current — of water
  22. object — an aim
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. object — to protest

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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