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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. content — the amount
  3. clip — a video
  4. march — the month
  5. snap — to click
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. net — after costs
  8. pop — to visit
  9. march — the month
  10. content — happy
  11. march — music
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. clip — to cut
  14. staff — employees
  15. net — for catching
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. staff — a stick
  21. pop — soda
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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