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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bank — for money
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a lid
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bank — for money
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. shower — rain
  20. mark — a trace
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bank — of a river

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