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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. clip — a video
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. content — happy
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. fine — all right
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fall — the season
  12. content — the amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spring — of water
  18. ground — crushed
  19. spring — the season
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — music
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pop — soda
  24. clip — to cut

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