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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. pitch — completely
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. cap — a hat
  6. rule — a law
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rash — a series
  13. row — a line
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rash — hasty
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. rule — government
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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