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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. tear — from crying
  3. content — the amount
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. mark — a grade
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. tear — to rip
  8. court — of a king
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mark — a trace
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. court — of law
  15. content — happy
  16. clip — a video
  17. court — for sport
  18. tear — from crying

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