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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. degree — from a university
  4. staff — a stick
  5. content — the amount
  6. staff — employees
  7. ball — a great time
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. ball — a dance
  10. clip — a video
  11. club — a group
  12. degree — an amount
  13. staff — employees
  14. fork — in a road
  15. can — to be able to
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. clip — for paper
  18. content — happy
  19. can — a tin
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — for dancing
  22. can — a tin
  23. degree — temperature
  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