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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. content — the amount
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. current — of water
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. kick — in football
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mine — for digging
  15. current — electric
  16. can — a tin
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. pitch — completely
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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