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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — to cut
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. pitch — completely
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stock — goods
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. stock — shares
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. clip — for paper
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — happy
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. clip — a video
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. content — videos and posts

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