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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. club — a group
  3. cap — a lid
  4. mug — a face
  5. content — happy
  6. mate — a partner
  7. club — for dancing
  8. chip — to eat
  9. content — the amount
  10. mate — a friend
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. mug — to rob
  19. chip — for betting
  20. cap — of ice
  21. club — for golf
  22. mug — a cup
  23. rest — what's left
  24. mate — to breed

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