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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. content — happy
  3. current — electric
  4. current — of water
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. cold — not warm
  8. present — there
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cold — an illness
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. present — the time now
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. content — the amount
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wake — a trail
  20. present — a gift
  21. current — happening now
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. content — videos and posts

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