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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  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. fine — all right
  3. current — electric
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. current — of water
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. shower — to wash
  11. content — happy
  12. fine — high quality
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. shower — rain
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bulb — for light
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. degree — temperature
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bulb — of a plant
  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