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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cap — a lid
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cold — not warm
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. rock — music
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. scale — size or range
  23. fork — in a road
  24. cold — the Cold War

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