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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. swing — to play on
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pass — a permit
  8. fall — to drop
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. swing — music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bear — the animal
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. kick — in football
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. cap — a hat
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. snap — to click
  21. fall — the season
  22. cap — a lid
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. swing — in golf

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