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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 120 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: cell · mate · season · game · clip · mug · leaves · content

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. game — a match
  3. clip — to cut
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. season — in sport
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. mug — a cup
  9. cell — in biology
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. mug — to rob
  12. cell — a phone
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. game — wild animals
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — a friend
  22. clip — for paper
  23. season — of the year
  24. clip — a video

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