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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · mark · tear · pitcher · ruler · hide · cap · content

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a grade
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. content — happy
  17. mark — a trace
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tear — to rip
  22. content — the amount
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. tear — from crying

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