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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. content — happy
  5. present — a gift
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. spring — of water
  8. present — there
  9. clip — for paper
  10. present — the time now
  11. content — the amount
  12. toast — bread
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. clip — to cut
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. band — a music group
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. clip — a video
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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