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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cap — a lid
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cap — a hat
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. content — happy
  9. field — for sport
  10. content — the amount
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. field — a subject
  13. key — in music
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. shower — rain
  18. field — farmland
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — for a lock
  23. cap — of ice
  24. straw — a straw man

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