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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. kick — in football
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — for sport
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. content — the amount
  12. court — of law
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. stand — to bear
  15. deal — to handle
  16. content — happy
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. court — of a king
  20. scale — in music
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. kick — with a leg

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