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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cap — a hat
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. content — happy
  7. game — wild animals
  8. can — a tin
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. can — to be able to
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — music
  14. content — the amount
  15. wake — a trail
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. can — a tin
  21. cap — of ice
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cap — a lid

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