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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. key — in music
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. march — the month
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. key — the most important part
  11. clip — to cut
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. march — music
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. face — part of the head
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. clip — a video

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