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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. suit — to fit
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. craft — a skill
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. suit — in cards
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. suit — clothes
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bat — the animal
  15. craft — boats
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. toast — bread
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. tear — from crying
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. coach — a trainer

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