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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · clip · ground · ball · deal · band · leaves · bear

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. band — a music group
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. content — happy
  9. clip — a video
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. deal — to handle
  12. content — the amount
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. ball — a dance
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. clip — for paper
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. deal — a big deal

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