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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. current — electric
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. ground — a position
  6. chest — a box
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. wake — a trail
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. content — the amount
  19. deal — to handle
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. current — of water
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. current — happening now

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