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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. craft — a skill
  3. clip — a video
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. craft — boats
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pass — a permit
  9. content — the amount
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. pit — in a race
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. kid — child
  19. pit — a hole
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. content — happy
  24. kid — to tease

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