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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cap — a lid
  3. chip — to eat
  4. ball — a great time
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ball — a dance
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. ground — the earth
  11. cap — of ice
  12. band — a ring
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. content — happy
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cap — a hat
  17. content — the amount
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. band — a music group
  22. chip — for betting
  23. ground — crushed
  24. mouse — for a computer

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