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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 116 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. cold — not warm
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a plant
  11. content — happy
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cold — an illness
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. root — of a word
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. calf — a young animal

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