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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: mine · degree · scale · current · hand · object · content · ruler

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. current — happening now
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. current — of water
  6. content — the amount
  7. object — to protest
  8. mine — for digging
  9. current — electric
  10. scale — in music
  11. hand — help
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. object — an aim
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. degree — an amount
  19. hand — in cards
  20. object — a thing
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. degree — from a university
  23. scale — size or range
  24. ruler — for measuring

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