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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. current — electric
  2. content — the amount
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. pit — a hole
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. cold — an illness
  9. content — happy
  10. current — of water
  11. pit — in a race
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cold — not warm
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pop — music
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. degree — temperature
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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