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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. game — a match
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cap — of ice
  6. spring — the season
  7. content — the amount
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. kick — in football
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cap — a hat
  19. content — happy
  20. game — wild animals
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cap — a lid
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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