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

Word bank: leaves · cap · plane · shower · saw · cell · rule · content

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cap — of ice
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. rule — government
  11. cap — a lid
  12. shower — rain
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. content — the amount
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cell — in biology
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rule — a law
  22. plane — a tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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