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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. kick — in football
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. content — happy
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cap — a lid
  19. degree — from a university
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bulb — for light
  22. degree — temperature
  23. scale — in music
  24. bulb — for light

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