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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. content — the amount
  3. press — to push
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stock — shares
  6. mine — for digging
  7. press — newspapers
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. current — electric
  10. degree — temperature
  11. ground — the earth
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. ground — crushed
  15. band — a music group
  16. current — happening now
  17. band — a ring
  18. stock — goods
  19. ground — a position
  20. degree — an amount
  21. press — a publisher
  22. current — of water
  23. content — happy
  24. mine — an explosive

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