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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chest — a box
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. pound — a weight
  6. rule — government
  7. face — to point toward
  8. present — a gift
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — a law
  11. wound — an injury
  12. present — there
  13. clip — for paper
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. face — to confront
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rock — music
  20. face — part of the head
  21. rock — a stone
  22. present — the time now
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pound — for dogs

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