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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 120 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. last — to go on
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. mark — a trace
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. cap — of ice
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. cap — a lid
  10. wind — moving air
  11. last — finally
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bear — the animal
  21. content — happy
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. mark — a grade
  24. last — final

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