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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. clip — for paper
  3. fall — to drop
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. shower — rain
  7. saw — the tool
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fall — the season
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. clip — a video
  12. fall — to drop
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — a trail
  16. clip — to cut
  17. content — the amount
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. shower — to wash
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. content — happy
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. saw — the tool

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