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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. content — happy
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. court — of law
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. clip — a video
  19. toast — bread
  20. content — the amount
  21. season — of the year
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pass — a permit

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