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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. march — the month
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wind — moving air
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. content — the amount
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. march — music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pound — a weight
  21. march — the month
  22. foot — a measure
  23. content — happy
  24. content — videos and posts

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