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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cap — a hat
  3. file — a tool
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cap — a lid
  6. can — to be able to
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. content — the amount
  10. file — a line of people
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. file — a document
  15. mark — a grade
  16. cap — of ice
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. saw — the tool
  20. can — a tin
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. can — a tin
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mark — a trace

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