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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mate — a partner
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. content — happy
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. content — the amount
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wind — moving air
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. scale — size or range
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — a video
  23. mate — a friend
  24. clip — to cut

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