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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. rule — government
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. net — after costs
  8. rule — a law
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mate — to breed
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mine — for digging
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. mate — a friend
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. saw — the tool
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rule — to rule out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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