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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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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. content — the amount
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cap — a lid
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cap — of ice
  10. clip — a video
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. kick — in football
  13. pitch — completely
  14. craft — boats
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. mark — a trace
  18. cap — a hat
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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