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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cap — a hat
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cap — of ice
  9. snap — to click
  10. last — final
  11. cap — a lid
  12. fork — in a road
  13. key — in music
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. key — for a lock
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — finally
  19. content — happy
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. squash — the sport
  22. last — to go on
  23. key — the most important part
  24. squash — to crush

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