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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. current — electric
  3. hand — help
  4. content — the amount
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rest — what's left
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. hand — in cards
  12. current — of water
  13. current — happening now
  14. mate — to breed
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mate — a partner
  17. rest — a break
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mate — a friend
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. rest — what's left
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. snap — to click

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