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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. content — happy
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. fine — high quality
  8. clip — for paper
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. bass — low music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — all right
  18. capital — money
  19. pitch — completely
  20. vault — a safe
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bass — the fish

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