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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. current — happening now
  5. key — for a lock
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. key — the most important part
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. key — in music
  13. hand — help
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hand — in cards
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. current — of water
  20. content — the amount
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. current — electric
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cold — not warm

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