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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cap — a lid
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. season — of the year
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. shower — to wash
  9. content — happy
  10. shower — rain
  11. cap — of ice
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cap — a hat
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. season — in sport
  18. chair — to sit on

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