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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. current — electric
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. current — happening now
  6. chest — of your body
  7. content — happy
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. content — the amount
  10. stand — to bear
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ground — the earth
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ground — a position
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chest — a box
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. current — of water

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