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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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. staff — employees
  4. cap — a lid
  5. lean — thin
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. staff — a stick
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cap — of ice
  11. spring — a coil
  12. staff — employees
  13. cell — a phone
  14. ground — crushed
  15. content — the amount
  16. lean — to bend
  17. spring — of water
  18. cell — in biology
  19. spring — the season
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ground — a position
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. lean — to rest against

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