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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. season — in sport
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. current — electric
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. drill — army training
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. prune — to trim
  12. season — of the year
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. drill — the tool
  20. current — happening now
  21. content — the amount
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. drill — a practice
  24. current — of water

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