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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. clip — for paper
  4. content — the amount
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. last — finally
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. clip — a video
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. clip — to cut

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