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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. net — after costs
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. degree — an amount
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. net — for catching
  8. file — a document
  9. degree — temperature
  10. current — of water
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — electric
  16. net — in sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — happy

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