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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. content — the amount
  3. lean — thin
  4. pop — soda
  5. saw — the tool
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. saw — the tool
  10. clip — a video
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. clip — for paper
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. lean — to bend
  21. pop — to visit
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. content — happy
  24. fan — a supporter

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