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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 124 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. net — after costs
  4. content — the amount
  5. clip — to cut
  6. net — in sport
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — army training
  9. ground — a position
  10. net — for catching
  11. ground — crushed
  12. clip — for paper
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. clip — a video
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. last — finally
  18. mark — a trace
  19. content — happy
  20. drill — the tool
  21. last — final
  22. mark — a grade
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ground — the earth

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