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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  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. rest — a break
  2. scale — in music
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. clip — for paper
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. content — the amount
  8. charge — a price
  9. content — happy
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rest — what's left
  15. clip — a video
  16. charge — electricity
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rash — a series
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rash — hasty
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. scale — size or range
  23. charge — in control
  24. clip — to cut

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