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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. content — happy
  9. rush — hurry
  10. pop — music
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. clip — for paper
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. season — of the year
  21. deal — to handle
  22. clip — to cut
  23. content — the amount
  24. clip — a video

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