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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wake — a trail
  5. court — for sport
  6. clip — a video
  7. rush — hurry
  8. court — of law
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pop — to visit
  12. tube — the underground
  13. content — happy
  14. pop — soda
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. court — of a king
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. content — the amount
  21. pop — music
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. tube — a container

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