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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 120 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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rock — music
  8. spring — of water
  9. degree — from a university
  10. content — the amount
  11. current — happening now
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. current — electric
  15. rule — a law
  16. wound — an injury
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rule — government
  22. wound — an injury
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. spring — a coil

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