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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. clip — a video
  4. cold — not warm
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — for paper
  7. content — happy
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. mark — a grade
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bass — the fish
  12. march — the month
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bass — low music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. march — music
  24. mark — to pay attention

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