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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spell — a short time
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cue — for pool
  6. content — happy
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. spell — magic
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cap — a hat
  12. mark — a trace
  13. kid — child
  14. game — a match
  15. cue — a hint
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. spell — letters
  20. content — the amount
  21. root — of a word
  22. cap — a lid
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. kid — to tease

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