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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bore — to tire
  5. content — happy
  6. scale — in music
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. season — in sport
  11. hand — in cards
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. content — the amount
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bore — to drill
  18. hand — help
  19. pop — to visit
  20. season — of the year
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — a hat

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