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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bound — tied together
  6. shower — rain
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. land — to come down
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. content — the amount
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. clip — to cut
  22. present — the time now
  23. content — happy
  24. present — there

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