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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. rash — hasty
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cap — a hat
  6. press — to push
  7. content — happy
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. press — a publisher
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cap — a lid
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rash — a series
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. pound — a weight
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. content — the amount
  24. press — newspapers

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