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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. row — to paddle
  3. content — the amount
  4. rest — what's left
  5. content — happy
  6. rest — what's left
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. spell — letters
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. clip — for paper
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. clip — a video
  15. rest — a break
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. row — a line
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pit — a hole
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pit — in a race
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. spell — magic
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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