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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. degree — temperature
  4. shower — rain
  5. degree — an amount
  6. charge — a price
  7. face — to confront
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. degree — from a university
  10. face — part of the head
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rash — a series
  13. charge — in control
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. charge — electricity
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. content — happy
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mug — a face
  21. face — to point toward
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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