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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. court — of a king
  4. land — to come down
  5. court — for sport
  6. content — the amount
  7. ground — crushed
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. lean — thin
  10. land — a country
  11. ground — a position
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cap — a hat
  14. land — ground
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cap — of ice
  19. court — of law
  20. dip — to sink
  21. lean — to bend
  22. content — happy
  23. ground — the earth
  24. stem — to come from

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