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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 124 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — a hat
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. hand — in cards
  10. branch — a division
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bat — the animal
  13. content — happy
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cap — of ice
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. content — the amount
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. hand — help
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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