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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. clip — a video
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. clip — to cut
  5. face — to point toward
  6. last — final
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. tube — the underground
  12. last — to go on
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. face — to confront
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. tube — a container
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. last — finally
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. face — part of the head

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