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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 120 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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — an amount
  4. clip — a video
  5. root — the cause
  6. content — the amount
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. root — of a plant
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. game — a match
  16. mine — for digging
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. degree — from a university
  19. clip — for paper
  20. content — happy
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bulb — for light
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bulb — for light

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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