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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. clip — a video
  4. club — a group
  5. can — a tin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. can — to be able to
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fall — to drop
  15. clip — to cut
  16. can — a tin
  17. club — for golf
  18. content — the amount
  19. clip — for paper
  20. fall — the season
  21. pop — soda
  22. club — for dancing
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wind — to turn a key

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