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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. content — happy
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wake — a trail
  7. clip — a video
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — to handle
  11. content — the amount
  12. face — part of the head
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mark — a trace
  15. face — to confront
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. clip — for paper
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — thin
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. mark — a grade
  22. face — to point toward
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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