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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pop — music
  4. spell — letters
  5. content — the amount
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. spell — a short time
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cap — a hat
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pop — to visit
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. capital — a city
  16. cap — of ice
  17. capital — money
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wind — moving air
  20. content — happy
  21. pop — soda
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spell — magic
  24. wound — an injury

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