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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. foot — a measure
  3. charge — electricity
  4. key — the most important part
  5. charge — in control
  6. clip — for paper
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. pop — soda
  9. season — of the year
  10. content — happy
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pop — to visit
  13. mark — a grade
  14. charge — a price
  15. pop — music
  16. mark — a trace
  17. content — the amount
  18. clip — a video
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. key — for a lock
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. key — in music
  24. foot — the bottom

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