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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. club — for dancing
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. track — a song
  5. face — to confront
  6. land — ground
  7. clip — to cut
  8. land — a country
  9. rule — a law
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. track — a path
  12. scale — size or range
  13. track — to keep track
  14. scale — in music
  15. land — to come down
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rule — government
  21. club — for golf
  22. clip — for paper
  23. face — part of the head
  24. club — a group

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