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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cap — a lid
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — soda
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rest — what's left
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. club — for golf
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rest — a break
  19. bore — to drill
  20. cap — of ice
  21. clip — a video
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — happy

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