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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pop — music
  11. chip — to eat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bulb — for light
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chip — for betting
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. pop — soda
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bulb — for light

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