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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. current — of water
  6. degree — from a university
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. degree — an amount
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. current — happening now
  13. game — wild animals
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. content — the amount
  16. current — electric
  17. ball — a dance
  18. game — a match
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — high quality
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. content — happy
  23. pitch — completely
  24. fine — all right

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