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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. current — happening now
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. ground — crushed
  6. current — electric
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. spell — letters
  10. degree — from a university
  11. march — the month
  12. spell — magic
  13. current — of water
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. spell — a short time
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. march — music
  19. wake — a trail
  20. roll — a list
  21. march — the month
  22. content — the amount
  23. roll — a cake
  24. wake — before a funeral

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