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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. content — happy
  3. cap — a hat
  4. land — a country
  5. content — the amount
  6. can — a tin
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. can — to be able to
  9. staff — employees
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. wound — an injury
  12. last — final
  13. wound — an injury
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. can — a tin
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. last — finally
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. staff — employees
  21. last — to go on
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cap — a lid

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