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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. clip — to cut
  3. content — happy
  4. pop — to visit
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. root — of a plant
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. root — of a word
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. root — the cause
  20. pop — music
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pop — soda

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