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

Word bank: content · clip · cue · march · mate · tear · hide · straw

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. tear — from crying
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cue — a hint
  11. tear — to rip
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. march — music
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a signal
  17. clip — to cut
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a partner
  22. clip — for paper
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. mate — a friend

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