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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.

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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. present — there
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. clip — to cut
  5. season — of the year
  6. present — a gift
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. scale — size or range
  10. fall — to drop
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. present — the time now
  14. fall — the season
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fall — to drop
  18. season — in sport

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