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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. staff — employees
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rest — what's left
  6. present — there
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — a video
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rest — a break
  12. clip — to cut
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. staff — employees
  16. bear — the animal
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bear — the animal

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