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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  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. can — a tin
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. content — the amount
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bass — low music
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. can — to be able to
  12. dip — to sink
  13. season — of the year
  14. content — happy
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — the fish
  17. can — a tin
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. season — in sport
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. dip — to dunk
  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