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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. mark — a grade
  3. lean — to bend
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. mark — a trace
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. lean — thin
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cap — of ice
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. content — happy
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wind — to turn a key

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