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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a lid
  3. content — the amount
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. date — the fruit
  15. root — the cause
  16. cap — a hat
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — of a word
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a music group
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. content — happy
  23. band — a ring
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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