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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: wake · deal · chair · cap · object · roll · wound · content

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. roll — a cake
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cap — a hat
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. object — to protest
  9. wound — an injury
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — an aim
  12. cap — a lid
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. chair — a leader
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. wake — a trail

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