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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a dance
  4. pit — in a race
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. pit — a hole
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. mug — a cup
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mug — to rob
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. clip — for paper
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. ball — a great time
  22. mug — a face
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. clip — a video

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