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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. ball — a great time
  4. rest — what's left
  5. clip — a video
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. clip — for paper
  9. file — a line of people
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chip — for betting
  12. content — happy
  13. rest — what's left
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. drill — army training
  17. content — the amount
  18. file — a tool
  19. sharp — clever
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rest — a break
  22. chip — to eat
  23. ball — a dance
  24. file — a document

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