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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. cap — a lid
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pop — music
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. content — the amount
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pop — soda
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — certain
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. content — happy
  21. cap — of ice
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cap — a hat
  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