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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. can — a tin
  3. ball — a dance
  4. suit — to fit
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. wind — moving air
  9. suit — clothes
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. can — a tin
  12. kid — to tease
  13. can — to be able to
  14. kid — child
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wind — moving air
  17. suit — in cards
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. ball — a great time
  21. content — the amount
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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