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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mug — a cup
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. mug — to rob
  11. clip — to cut
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — a position
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. ground — crushed
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mug — a face
  23. pound — a weight
  24. hand — in cards

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