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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. clip — for paper
  7. firm — decided
  8. scale — in music
  9. pop — soda
  10. chair — a leader
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. pop — to visit
  14. content — the amount
  15. clip — a video
  16. pop — music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. clip — to cut
  19. ball — a dance
  20. firm — steady
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. firm — a company
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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