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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. object — a thing
  3. land — a country
  4. staff — employees
  5. land — ground
  6. object — an aim
  7. object — to protest
  8. clip — to cut
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. content — happy
  12. clip — a video
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. land — to come down
  16. rest — what's left
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rest — what's left
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pop — soda
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pop — music
  24. rest — a break

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