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

Word bank: mouse · field · tear · clip · pit · pound · cap · content

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. pit — in a race
  3. content — happy
  4. tear — to rip
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. content — the amount
  8. pit — a hole
  9. cap — a hat
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a lid
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. field — farmland
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — a video
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — to hit hard

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