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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rule — government
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — for catching
  7. wind — moving air
  8. face — part of the head
  9. content — the amount
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — a hat
  12. ground — crushed
  13. face — to confront
  14. cap — of ice
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. net — in sport
  20. rule — a law
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. content — happy

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