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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chair — a leader
  6. ball — a great time
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. saw — the tool
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kid — child
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ball — a dance
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fork — in a road
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. saw — the tool
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — a garden tool

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