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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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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pop — to visit
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. content — happy
  6. suit — to fit
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. content — the amount
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. clip — a video
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. suit — in cards
  17. clip — for paper
  18. suit — clothes
  19. shower — rain
  20. fine — all right
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. clip — to cut

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