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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. ground — crushed
  3. roll — a list
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. chest — of your body
  6. ground — a position
  7. degree — an amount
  8. clip — a video
  9. current — happening now
  10. fine — high quality
  11. degree — temperature
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ball — a dance
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. clip — for paper
  21. roll — a cake
  22. fine — all right
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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