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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 116 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mark — a trace
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. club — for golf
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cold — an illness
  11. content — happy
  12. cap — a hat
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — a friend
  16. cap — of ice
  17. club — a group
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. mate — to breed
  20. snap — to click
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mark — a grade
  24. content — the amount

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