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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. land — to come down
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. content — happy
  7. clip — a video
  8. last — to go on
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — for paper
  11. last — finally
  12. file — a tool
  13. last — final
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. file — a line of people
  16. key — the most important part
  17. clip — to cut
  18. land — a country
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. file — a document
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. key — for a lock
  23. land — ground
  24. key — in music

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