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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. court — of a king
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — happy
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. court — of law
  16. clip — a video
  17. court — for sport
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rush — hurry
  24. cell — in a prison

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