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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cap — a hat
  3. drill — army training
  4. content — the amount
  5. firm — a company
  6. prune — to trim
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. firm — steady
  14. cap — a lid
  15. drill — a practice
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cap — of ice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. tube — a container
  24. firm — decided

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