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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. net — for catching
  3. cap — of ice
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mark — a trace
  7. ground — a position
  8. row — a line
  9. race — the arms race
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cap — a hat
  15. content — happy
  16. net — in sport
  17. mark — a grade
  18. race — humankind
  19. cap — a lid
  20. net — after costs
  21. race — a contest
  22. last — final
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. row — a quarrel

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