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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 120 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. kick — in football
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. ground — the earth
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. content — the amount
  11. wake — a trail
  12. ground — a position
  13. face — to confront
  14. clip — a video
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. ground — crushed
  19. deal — to handle
  20. clip — for paper
  21. content — happy
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. face — to point toward

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