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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. face — to confront
  4. drill — the tool
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cap — a hat
  7. firm — a company
  8. capital — a city
  9. face — to point toward
  10. content — happy
  11. firm — steady
  12. file — a document
  13. capital — money
  14. cap — a lid
  15. file — a line of people
  16. drill — a practice
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. face — part of the head
  19. drill — army training
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. file — a tool
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. firm — decided
  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