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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — to cut
  4. file — a document
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. spring — of water
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bat — the animal
  12. file — a tool
  13. spring — the season
  14. board — a committee
  15. perch — the fish
  16. board — to get on
  17. race — humankind
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. race — the arms race
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. race — a contest
  23. clip — for paper
  24. perch — for a bird

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