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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. net — in sport
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. file — a tool
  5. net — for catching
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. kid — child
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wound — an injury
  11. content — happy
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. net — after costs
  16. foot — a measure
  17. cap — a hat
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. file — a document
  22. bulb — for light
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. content — the amount

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