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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. deal — to handle
  3. content — happy
  4. ball — a dance
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. clip — a video
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. ball — a great time
  11. current — of water
  12. race — humankind
  13. season — of the year
  14. race — a contest
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. content — the amount
  17. season — in sport
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. current — electric
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. current — happening now
  24. clip — for paper

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