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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. clip — to cut
  4. spring — of water
  5. content — the amount
  6. spring — a coil
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bass — low music
  10. sharp — clever
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bass — the fish
  16. club — for golf
  17. spring — the season
  18. vault — a safe
  19. fine — high quality
  20. club — a group
  21. content — happy
  22. clip — for paper
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. clip — a video

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