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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. march — the month
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. rock — music
  5. bear — the animal
  6. saw — the tool
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — a thing
  9. content — the amount
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. object — to protest
  14. rock — a stone
  15. clip — to cut
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. clip — for paper
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. bear — the animal
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. clip — a video
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. saw — the tool

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