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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 120 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. ground — the earth
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. clip — to cut
  5. content — the amount
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. charge — in control
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. fall — to drop
  14. charge — a price
  15. pit — in a race
  16. clip — for paper
  17. charge — electricity
  18. clip — a video
  19. fall — the season
  20. file — a line of people
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pit — a hole
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pit — a fruit 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