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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. charge — electricity
  5. degree — temperature
  6. charge — a price
  7. ball — a dance
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wound — an injury
  14. charge — in control
  15. current — electric
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. current — happening now
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. ball — a great time
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. current — of water

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