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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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468
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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mine — for digging
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — to cut
  5. content — the amount
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. cap — a hat
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. season — in sport
  12. clip — a video
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. content — happy
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. season — of the year
  21. pass — a permit
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. content — videos and posts

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