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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  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. content — videos and posts
  3. rash — a series
  4. ground — a position
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. content — happy
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cap — a hat
  9. season — in sport
  10. stand — to bear
  11. rash — hasty
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. ground — the earth
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. cap — of ice
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ground — crushed
  19. spring — a coil
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. season — of the year
  23. stand — for spectators
  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