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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. track — a song
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. march — the month
  6. present — the time now
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. ground — the earth
  10. track — a path
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cap — of ice
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. march — music
  15. ground — crushed
  16. march — the month
  17. present — a gift
  18. cap — a lid
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ground — a position
  21. cap — a hat
  22. present — there
  23. track — to keep track
  24. content — happy

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