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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. suit — to fit
  3. mine — for digging
  4. root — of a word
  5. clip — to cut
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. root — the cause
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. suit — clothes
  11. bound — obliged
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. root — of a plant
  15. ground — a position
  16. bound — certain
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. suit — in cards
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. ground — crushed
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bound — tied together
  24. mine — an explosive

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