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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cap — a hat
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. row — to paddle
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. shower — rain
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. content — happy
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cap — a lid
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. tear — from crying

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