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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mate — a friend
  3. content — happy
  4. mate — a partner
  5. club — for golf
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. shower — rain
  8. bass — the fish
  9. club — for dancing
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. club — a group
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. clip — for paper
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. clip — a video
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. mate — to breed
  19. content — the amount
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bass — low music
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. shower — to wash
  24. clip — to cut

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