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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lean — to bend
  4. ball — a dance
  5. present — the time now
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. cold — not warm
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a skill
  12. ball — a great time
  13. clip — a video
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. present — there
  20. present — a gift
  21. clip — for paper
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lean — thin

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