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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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cap — a lid
  4. game — wild animals
  5. content — the amount
  6. suit — in cards
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. game — a match
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cap — a hat
  12. suit — to fit
  13. squash — to crush
  14. content — happy
  15. root — the cause
  16. cold — an illness
  17. row — a line
  18. root — of a word
  19. row — to paddle
  20. root — of a plant
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. game — a kind of play

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