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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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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: present · current · court · pit · fine · degree · content · lash

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — in a race
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. content — happy
  6. degree — temperature
  7. court — of law
  8. fine — high quality
  9. current — happening now
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. degree — an amount
  12. content — the amount
  13. current — of water
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. court — for sport
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. degree — from a university
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. present — the time now
  20. current — electric
  21. fine — all right
  22. pit — a hole
  23. present — there
  24. court — of a king

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