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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. snap — to click
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. press — to push
  11. cold — an illness
  12. content — happy
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. press — newspapers
  15. content — the amount
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cap — of ice
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cap — a lid
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. press — a publisher
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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