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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tear — from crying
  3. content — happy
  4. face — to confront
  5. clip — a video
  6. bat — the animal
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — to cut
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mark — a grade
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the fish
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. charge — in control
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. clip — for paper
  21. charge — electricity
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tear — to rip
  24. charge — a price

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