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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. content — the amount
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. scale — in music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pop — soda
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. clip — to cut
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. saw — the tool
  21. content — happy
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. scale — size or range
  24. pitch — completely

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