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

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. clip — to cut
  4. content — happy
  5. clip — for paper
  6. land — ground
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. can — a tin
  9. pit — a hole
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. fall — to drop
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. fall — the season
  15. clip — a video
  16. content — the amount
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pit — in a race

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