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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: tube · mug · content · chair · cap · bat · date · craft

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. content — happy
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. craft — a skill
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mug — a face
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cap — a hat
  13. craft — boats
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. tube — a container
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mug — to rob
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mug — a cup
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. content — the amount
  23. date — the fruit
  24. craft — a handicraft

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