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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cue — a hint
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. game — wild animals
  7. net — in sport
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cue — for pool
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. mark — a trace
  15. net — for catching
  16. game — a match
  17. net — after costs
  18. cap — a lid
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mark — a grade
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cue — a signal
  24. nail — on a finger

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