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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. content — the amount
  4. cold — an illness
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. mark — a trace
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. charge — a price
  13. rush — hurry
  14. sharp — clever
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. charge — electricity
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. charge — in control
  22. bat — the animal
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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