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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. drill — a practice
  5. spring — the season
  6. cap — a hat
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cap — of ice
  9. content — the amount
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. cap — a lid
  12. spring — a coil
  13. content — happy
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. drill — the tool
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. land — a country
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. spring — of water
  22. date — the fruit
  23. drill — army training
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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