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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. cell — in biology
  3. row — a line
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. clip — a video
  7. mug — to rob
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. content — happy
  11. row — to paddle
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. content — the amount
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. mug — a cup
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. mug — a face
  24. wax — to grow

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