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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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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cell — in biology
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. cell — a phone
  6. ground — the earth
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. ground — crushed
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ground — a position
  19. clip — to cut
  20. scale — in music
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cell — in a prison

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