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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. content — happy
  13. court — for sport
  14. stand — to bear
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. chair — a leader
  17. court — of law
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. court — of a king
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — a safe
  24. rock — a stone

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