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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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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 · pop · cap · plane · game · jam · lean · fork

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. game — wild animals
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. pop — to visit
  6. content — the amount
  7. plane — a tool
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. content — happy
  11. cap — of ice
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fork — in a road
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. pop — music
  20. game — a match
  21. pop — soda
  22. lean — thin
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cap — a lid

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