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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. degree — temperature
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chest — of your body
  6. charge — in control
  7. rule — government
  8. ground — a position
  9. charge — electricity
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. rule — a law
  13. degree — from a university
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — a weight
  20. ground — crushed
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. content — happy
  23. charge — a price
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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