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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. spell — magic
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. key — for a lock
  7. clip — to cut
  8. game — a match
  9. court — of a king
  10. spell — a short time
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — letters
  13. key — the most important part
  14. court — of law
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. court — for sport
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. clip — for paper
  20. key — in music
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. kid — child
  24. game — wild animals

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