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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: dip · fan · current · temple · mine · foot · content · last

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. current — electric
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. last — final
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. current — of water
  16. mine — for digging
  17. last — finally
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. foot — a measure
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. current — happening now
  22. last — to go on
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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