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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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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: content · mouse · cap · row · cabinet · kid · lash · ground

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. kid — child
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cap — a hat
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cap — a lid
  8. ground — a position
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. row — a line
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. ground — the earth
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. kid — to tease
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cap — of ice
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. content — the amount
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. row — to paddle

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