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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. last — finally
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. row — to paddle
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. last — final
  10. dip — to sink
  11. press — newspapers
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. file — a document
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. press — to push
  17. press — a publisher
  18. content — the amount
  19. file — a tool
  20. last — to go on
  21. file — a line of people
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. row — a line
  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