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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. clip — a video
  6. content — the amount
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. scale — in music
  9. pound — a weight
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tube — the underground
  12. clip — for paper
  13. content — happy
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. sharp — clever
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. tube — a container
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wake — a trail
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. scale — size or range
  24. lie — an untruth

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