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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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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: degree · kid · coach · content · rush · current · sharp · fall

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. sharp — clever
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. kid — to tease
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. degree — an amount
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fall — the season
  14. current — of water
  15. content — happy
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rush — hurry
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — electric
  23. content — the amount
  24. kid — child

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