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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wound — an injury
  4. scale — in music
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. game — wild animals
  7. degree — from a university
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wound — an injury
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. content — the amount
  17. scale — size or range
  18. degree — an amount
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. degree — temperature
  24. content — happy

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