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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 120 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. mine — for digging
  3. perch — the fish
  4. season — in sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. clip — to cut
  7. deal — to handle
  8. content — the amount
  9. season — of the year
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mate — to breed
  14. clip — for paper
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mate — a friend
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tube — a container
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. clip — a video
  21. mate — a partner
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. content — happy

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