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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. fall — the season
  9. scale — in music
  10. present — a gift
  11. fall — to drop
  12. dip — to sink
  13. cap — a lid
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. present — the time now
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. present — there

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