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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. content — happy
  5. charge — electricity
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bulb — for light
  9. charge — a price
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mate — to breed
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mark — a grade
  15. degree — an amount
  16. content — the amount
  17. bulb — for light
  18. ball — a dance
  19. charge — in control
  20. degree — temperature
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. ball — a round shape

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