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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cap — of ice
  4. content — the amount
  5. spring — a coil
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cap — a hat
  8. charge — in control
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. content — happy
  11. wind — moving air
  12. saw — the tool
  13. dip — to sink
  14. spring — the season
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. charge — a price
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. saw — the tool
  21. charge — electricity
  22. cap — a lid
  23. spring — of water
  24. racket — a loud noise

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