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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. wound — an injury
  5. toast — bread
  6. scale — in music
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. content — happy
  14. wound — an injury
  15. capital — money
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. content — the amount
  18. capital — a city
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cap — a lid
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cap — of ice

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