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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. track — to keep track
  3. saw — the tool
  4. clip — to cut
  5. spring — the season
  6. content — the amount
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. clip — for paper
  9. season — of the year
  10. charge — electricity
  11. season — in sport
  12. clip — a video
  13. bank — for money
  14. spring — a coil
  15. track — a path
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. track — a song
  18. bank — for money
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. spring — of water
  21. charge — a price
  22. charge — in control
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bank — of a river

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