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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: mug · mine · firm · clip · chest · content · pop · board

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. pop — music
  3. content — happy
  4. firm — decided
  5. chest — of your body
  6. content — the amount
  7. chest — of your body
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. board — a committee
  11. pop — soda
  12. mine — for digging
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. firm — steady
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — to rob
  20. firm — a company
  21. chest — a box
  22. pop — to visit
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. board — to get on

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