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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. content — happy
  5. saw — the tool
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bat — the animal
  8. staff — employees
  9. clip — a video
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tube — the underground
  13. content — the amount
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. clip — for paper
  16. saw — the tool
  17. scale — size or range
  18. staff — employees
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. staff — a stick
  21. sharp — clever
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. bat — in an idiom

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