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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rash — hasty
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. content — happy
  8. saw — the tool
  9. spell — letters
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rash — a series
  17. bear — the animal
  18. content — the amount
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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