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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. band — a music group
  4. clip — to cut
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mark — a trace
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. can — a tin
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. band — a ring
  16. pitch — completely
  17. can — to be able to
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. content — the amount
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. mark — a grade

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