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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spring — the season
  3. board — to get on
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. content — the amount
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. last — final
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. last — to go on
  11. cap — a hat
  12. spring — of water
  13. last — finally
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cell — in biology
  17. tube — the underground
  18. content — happy
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. spring — a coil
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. cell — a phone
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — a flat piece

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