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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. board — a committee
  5. bank — for money
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fine — high quality
  10. bank — of a river
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bank — for money
  14. content — happy
  15. spell — a short time
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. board — to get on
  21. pitch — completely
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. clip — a video
  24. fine — all right

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