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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. content — happy
  4. tube — a container
  5. clip — a video
  6. tube — the underground
  7. spring — the season
  8. swing — music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. suit — to fit
  12. spring — of water
  13. swing — in golf
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. root — of a plant
  17. suit — clothes
  18. clip — to cut
  19. root — of a word
  20. suit — in cards
  21. root — the cause
  22. lie — to recline
  23. content — the amount
  24. clip — for paper

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