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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. charge — electricity
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. clip — a video
  6. toast — bread
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — to cut
  10. track — a song
  11. rock — music
  12. content — happy
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. charge — a price
  17. clip — for paper
  18. content — the amount
  19. track — a path
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. charge — in control
  22. chest — of your body
  23. track — to keep track
  24. chest — a box

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