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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. clip — for paper
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pit — in a race
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fall — the season
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pop — music
  14. content — the amount
  15. season — of the year
  16. pop — to visit
  17. content — happy
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pit — a hole
  21. season — in sport
  22. rash — a series
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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