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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — for betting
  5. degree — from a university
  6. spring — the season
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cap — a hat
  9. charge — in control
  10. content — the amount
  11. charge — a price
  12. spring — of water
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. spring — a coil
  16. charge — electricity
  17. content — happy
  18. degree — temperature
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. lie — to recline
  24. wind — to turn a key

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