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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. clip — a video
  4. current — of water
  5. wind — moving air
  6. current — happening now
  7. object — an aim
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. current — electric
  12. content — happy
  13. wind — moving air
  14. object — a thing
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. object — to protest
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. pitch — completely
  24. content — videos and posts

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