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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rush — hurry
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — happy
  6. clip — a video
  7. pound — a weight
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mate — a friend
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. mate — to breed
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. perch — the fish
  19. mate — a partner
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. rush — a thrill

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