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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. current — happening now
  3. kid — child
  4. net — after costs
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. current — of water
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. current — electric
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. net — for catching
  20. kid — to tease
  21. content — happy
  22. net — in sport
  23. lean — thin
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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