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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 116 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cap — of ice
  3. game — wild animals
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. content — happy
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. scale — size or range
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bat — the animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bound — certain
  17. scale — in music
  18. bound — tied together
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. game — a match
  23. content — the amount
  24. cap — a hat

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