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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. content — happy
  3. hand — in cards
  4. march — the month
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. content — the amount
  8. march — the month
  9. hand — help
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cap — a lid
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. press — to push
  17. march — music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fork — in a road
  23. press — a publisher
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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