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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · spell · straw · clip · content · lie

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — magic
  3. march — music
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — letters
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. content — happy
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. clip — a video
  14. lie — to recline
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. content — the amount
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. march — the month

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