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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. current — happening now
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. scale — in music
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. spring — of water
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. current — of water
  14. branch — a division
  15. content — the amount
  16. current — electric
  17. snap — to click
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. degree — from a university
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. scale — size or range
  23. content — happy
  24. snap — to snap out of it

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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