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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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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: present · wind · cell · nail · swing · cap · content · lean

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. swing — music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cap — a lid
  9. content — happy
  10. lean — thin
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — the time now
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cell — in biology
  20. swing — to play on
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — of ice

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