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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mark — a grade
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. clip — a video
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. shower — rain
  9. content — happy
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spell — letters
  12. clip — for paper
  13. last — final
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. last — finally
  17. clip — to cut
  18. shower — to wash
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. spell — a short time
  21. last — to go on
  22. spell — magic
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. mark — a trace

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