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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. content — happy
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. season — of the year
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. chest — of your body
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. drill — a practice
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. drill — army training
  14. chest — a box
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. content — the amount
  18. rush — hurry
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fall — to drop
  22. season — in sport
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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