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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 120 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. craft — boats
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cap — of ice
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. content — happy
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. face — to confront
  12. chair — a leader
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cap — a hat
  17. face — to point toward
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. content — the amount
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. cap — a lid
  23. craft — a skill
  24. racket — a loud noise

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