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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cap — a lid
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. row — to paddle
  7. content — the amount
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. rush — hurry
  11. mark — a trace
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. scale — in music
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cap — a hat
  16. row — a line
  17. saw — the tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — a tool
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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