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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. firm — steady
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pop — music
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. clip — to cut
  7. firm — a company
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wind — moving air
  10. firm — decided
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rash — hasty
  14. clip — a video
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pop — soda
  20. content — the amount
  21. rash — a series
  22. content — happy
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pop — to visit

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