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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. snap — to click
  3. content — happy
  4. degree — temperature
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. prune — to trim
  7. degree — from a university
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. current — electric
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. current — of water
  13. file — a document
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. current — happening now
  18. file — a line of people
  19. prune — to trim
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. file — a tool
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. content — videos and posts

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