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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cell — a phone
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chip — to eat
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. rash — a series
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cap — a lid
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wind — moving air
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. content — happy

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