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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. clip — a video
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. last — final
  8. object — an aim
  9. march — the month
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. march — the month
  12. pass — a permit
  13. object — to protest
  14. content — the amount
  15. clip — for paper
  16. object — a thing
  17. kid — child
  18. clip — to cut
  19. march — music
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. content — happy
  24. kid — to tease

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