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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. clip — for paper
  4. capital — money
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bass — low music
  8. capital — a city
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. charge — electricity
  14. charge — a price
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bass — the fish
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rush — hurry
  23. charge — in control
  24. trunk — of a tree

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