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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. content — happy
  6. game — a match
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. press — to push
  9. clip — for paper
  10. current — happening now
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. current — electric
  13. press — a publisher
  14. present — there
  15. current — of water
  16. present — the time now
  17. wound — an injury
  18. press — newspapers
  19. present — a gift
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wound — an injury
  24. content — the amount

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