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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ball — a great time
  4. content — the amount
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mate — a friend
  10. branch — a division
  11. mate — to breed
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pass — a permit
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mine — for digging
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. content — happy
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. wake — a trail
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. mate — a partner

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