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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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. band — a ring
  2. row — to paddle
  3. clip — a video
  4. staff — employees
  5. mate — a partner
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kick — in football
  8. staff — a stick
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mate — to breed
  11. content — the amount
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — in sport
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. band — a music group
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mate — a friend
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. row — a line
  23. staff — employees
  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