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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bound — tied together
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bound — obliged
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bound — certain
  14. cap — of ice
  15. clip — a video
  16. ground — a position
  17. fork — in a road
  18. content — the amount
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chip — to eat
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cap — a lid
  23. ground — the earth
  24. fork — a garden 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