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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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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: firm · content · mouse · clip · scale · cue · wind · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wind — moving air
  3. content — happy
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — a company
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. scale — size or range
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — a video
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. present — there
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. scale — in music
  19. firm — decided
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — a signal
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cue — for pool
  24. present — the time now

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