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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. current — electric
  3. present — there
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. march — the month
  6. content — the amount
  7. current — of water
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. present — the time now
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mine — for digging
  12. march — music
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. present — a gift
  15. face — to confront
  16. mug — a cup
  17. content — happy
  18. current — happening now
  19. mug — a face
  20. march — the month
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. face — part of the head

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