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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 124 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wound — an injury
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. game — a match
  9. cold — not warm
  10. board — a committee
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cap — a lid
  15. game — wild animals
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. content — happy
  19. plane — a tool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. board — to get on
  23. cap — of ice
  24. plane — an aircraft

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