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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cap — a lid
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. net — after costs
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. content — happy
  8. net — in sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. tube — a container
  11. pop — music
  12. cap — a hat
  13. pop — soda
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rule — government
  16. pop — to visit
  17. rush — hurry
  18. net — for catching
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cap — of ice
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tube — the underground
  24. rule — to rule out

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