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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bound — tied together
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pop — soda
  6. last — to go on
  7. snap — to click
  8. content — happy
  9. shower — to wash
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bound — certain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path
  19. shower — rain
  20. last — finally
  21. pop — music
  22. content — the amount
  23. bound — obliged
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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