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

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. swing — in golf
  5. content — happy
  6. clip — to cut
  7. tube — the underground
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. cap — a lid
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. swing — to play on
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. swing — music
  15. tube — a container
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cap — of ice
  18. clip — a video

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