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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. ball — a dance
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bound — tied together
  7. row — a line
  8. capital — money
  9. toast — bread
  10. club — a group
  11. clip — to cut
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. capital — a city
  14. bound — obliged
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. clip — for paper
  17. club — for golf
  18. ball — a great time
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. bound — certain
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. club — for dancing
  24. content — the amount

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