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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. suit — to fit
  3. content — happy
  4. suit — clothes
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. clip — for paper
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. kid — child
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. content — the amount
  14. kid — to tease
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. suit — in cards
  17. bass — low music
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bass — the fish
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. clip — a video

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