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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. clip — a video
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. clip — to cut
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. scale — size or range
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. scale — in music
  24. clip — for paper

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