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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. content — happy
  5. present — the time now
  6. scale — in music
  7. saw — the tool
  8. present — a gift
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rest — what's left
  12. present — there
  13. scale — size or range
  14. clip — a video
  15. pass — a permit
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. clip — to cut
  18. content — the amount
  19. rest — a break
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rest — what's left

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