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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. suit — to fit
  3. present — there
  4. foot — a measure
  5. suit — in cards
  6. present — the time now
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. clip — to cut
  14. game — a match
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. suit — clothes
  18. content — happy
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. clip — a video
  21. game — wild animals
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. present — a gift
  24. foot — the bottom

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