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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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Word bank
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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: cold · pop · mark · hide · content · game · leaves · saw

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cold — an illness
  3. content — the amount
  4. saw — the tool
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. content — happy
  9. pop — to visit
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pop — music
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. saw — the tool
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mark — a grade
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. game — a match
  21. pop — soda
  22. mark — a trace
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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