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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. cap — of ice
  3. land — to come down
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. snap — to click
  9. land — a country
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cap — a hat
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. current — electric
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. pitch — completely
  20. content — happy
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. land — ground
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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