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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mug — a cup
  3. pitch — completely
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mug — to rob
  6. clip — a video
  7. wake — a trail
  8. game — a match
  9. mug — a face
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. content — happy
  13. root — the cause
  14. game — wild animals
  15. root — of a word
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. root — of a plant
  23. clip — to cut
  24. content — the amount

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