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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pop — music
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. net — in sport
  5. cap — a lid
  6. net — after costs
  7. pop — soda
  8. spell — magic
  9. content — happy
  10. net — for catching
  11. rash — hasty
  12. spell — a short time
  13. rash — a series
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pop — to visit
  17. tube — a container
  18. cap — a hat
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. spell — letters
  23. cap — of ice
  24. content — videos and posts

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