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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 120 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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. content — happy
  4. drill — army training
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. band — a music group
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cap — of ice
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — the amount
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cap — a lid
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. cap — a hat
  15. file — a document
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pass — a permit
  20. band — a ring
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. drill — the tool
  24. arm — a part of something

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