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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cap — a lid
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. file — a tool
  5. stock — shares
  6. last — final
  7. stock — goods
  8. last — to go on
  9. cap — of ice
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. last — finally
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. file — a document
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitch — completely
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cap — a hat
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. content — the amount

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