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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cap — of ice
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. charge — a price
  7. content — happy
  8. charge — electricity
  9. cap — a hat
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. game — a match
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. cap — a lid
  15. charge — in control
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bass — the fish
  20. content — the amount
  21. bass — low music
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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