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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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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: cap · content · tube · stick · tear · toast · can · face

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. tube — a container
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. can — a tin
  5. content — the amount
  6. cap — of ice
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. cap — a hat
  9. face — to point toward
  10. can — a tin
  11. face — part of the head
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. content — happy
  14. can — to be able to
  15. face — to confront
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cap — a lid
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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