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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cap — a hat
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. last — to go on
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to sink
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cap — a lid
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. last — final
  12. bass — low music
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. last — finally
  16. pop — soda
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. plane — a tool
  19. content — happy
  20. pop — music
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bass — the fish
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bass — the instrument

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