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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. game — a match
  4. dip — to sink
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cap — a lid
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. drill — a practice
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. content — the amount
  12. rock — a stone
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. net — in sport
  15. cap — of ice
  16. net — after costs
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. net — for catching
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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