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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cap — a lid
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. ground — crushed
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. content — the amount
  7. ground — a position
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pop — soda
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. current — of water
  13. pop — to visit
  14. current — electric
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cap — a hat
  17. content — happy
  18. fork — in a road
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cap — of ice
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cold — an illness
  24. current — happening now

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