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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. content — the amount
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cap — a lid
  6. ground — crushed
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. fall — to drop
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. fall — to drop
  12. content — happy
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. swing — music
  18. cap — of ice
  19. swing — in golf
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. ground — the earth
  22. fall — the season
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cap — a hat

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