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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cold — not warm
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cold — an illness
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cap — of ice
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fan — a supporter

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