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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. clip — to cut
  3. craft — boats
  4. rule — a law
  5. clip — a video
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. club — for golf
  8. content — the amount
  9. face — to point toward
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a cake
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. face — part of the head
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rule — government
  18. club — a group
  19. craft — a skill
  20. face — to confront
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. club — for dancing
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rule — to rule out

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