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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 124 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. content — the amount
  3. clip — a video
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. date — the fruit
  6. clip — for paper
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. content — happy
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. row — a line
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. plane — a tool
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pound — a weight
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wound — an injury
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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