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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. mate — a friend
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. squash — the sport
  10. saw — the tool
  11. content — happy
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. tear — to rip
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — to breed
  18. clip — for paper
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bulb — for light
  21. squash — to crush
  22. clip — a video
  23. bulb — for light
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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