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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. current — of water
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. content — happy
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bound — tied together
  12. current — electric
  13. pitch — completely
  14. content — the amount
  15. current — happening now
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pit — a hole
  18. squash — the sport
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pit — in a race
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — certain
  24. pitch — a sports field

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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