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

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. vault — a safe
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. clip — to cut
  6. prune — to trim
  7. craft — boats
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rule — a law
  10. craft — a skill
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rule — government
  13. prune — to trim
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. prune — the fruit

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