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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. object — to protest
  3. pass — a permit
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. present — there
  10. mine — for digging
  11. clip — for paper
  12. content — the amount
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. present — the time now
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. object — a thing
  18. chip — to eat
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. present — a gift
  21. chip — for betting
  22. snap — to click
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. object — an aim

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