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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bulb — for light
  3. fine — high quality
  4. pop — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. content — happy
  7. fine — all right
  8. pop — soda
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. content — the amount
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. pop — to visit
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. stand — to bear
  23. clip — a video
  24. stand — on your feet

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