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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. clip — a video
  3. rush — hurry
  4. content — the amount
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. fine — high quality
  7. last — to go on
  8. mate — a partner
  9. capital — a city
  10. clip — for paper
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. content — happy
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. fine — all right
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. last — final
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. capital — money
  23. mate — to breed
  24. clip — to cut

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