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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. current — electric
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. fall — to drop
  6. current — of water
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. content — the amount
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. sharp — clever
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. land — ground
  17. fall — to drop
  18. land — to come down
  19. current — happening now
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. content — happy
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. fall — the season
  24. temple — a place of worship

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