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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 116 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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. rest — what's left
  5. charge — electricity
  6. drill — army training
  7. bat — the animal
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. game — wild animals
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rest — a break
  13. drill — the tool
  14. degree — temperature
  15. charge — a price
  16. craft — boats
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. drill — a practice
  19. charge — in control
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rest — what's left
  22. game — a match
  23. degree — an amount
  24. game — a kind of play

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