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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. band — a music group
  3. clip — a video
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pit — a hole
  8. key — the most important part
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. band — a ring
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. march — music
  13. season — of the year
  14. march — the month
  15. clip — for paper
  16. key — for a lock
  17. pit — in a race
  18. key — in music
  19. season — in sport
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. march — the month
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. band — a rubber band

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