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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fall — to drop
  3. content — the amount
  4. mine — for digging
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mate — a friend
  7. fall — to drop
  8. clip — a video
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. content — happy
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. deal — to handle
  17. staff — a stick
  18. mate — a partner
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. fall — the season

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