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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. content — the amount
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. clip — to cut
  9. capital — a city
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. clip — for paper
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. capital — money
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a great time
  17. content — happy
  18. clip — a video

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