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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. content — the amount
  3. chest — of your body
  4. can — a tin
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. pop — to visit
  8. land — a country
  9. hand — help
  10. can — a tin
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. can — to be able to
  13. chest — a box
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pop — music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. content — happy
  21. land — ground
  22. cap — a hat
  23. land — to come down
  24. hand — in cards

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