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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 124 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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. content — the amount
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. spring — the season
  11. current — electric
  12. degree — temperature
  13. current — of water
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. content — happy
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pitch — completely
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. current — happening now

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