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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cell — in biology
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. content — happy
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cell — a phone
  10. degree — an amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wind — moving air
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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