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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. land — a country
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. squash — the sport
  5. pass — a permit
  6. land — to come down
  7. staff — employees
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. land — ground
  17. squash — to crush
  18. content — the amount

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