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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. march — music
  3. rock — music
  4. content — happy
  5. charge — electricity
  6. clip — to cut
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — a video
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. charge — in control
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. rock — a stone
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. scale — in music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. content — the amount
  22. march — the month
  23. charge — a price
  24. clip — for paper

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