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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: content · key · cold · chair · track · squash · stick · cap

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — not warm
  3. key — the most important part
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. key — in music
  6. content — the amount
  7. cold — an illness
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cap — a hat
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. content — happy
  13. cap — of ice
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. track — a path
  17. squash — the sport
  18. key — for a lock
  19. squash — to crush
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cap — a lid
  24. track — a song

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