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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 116 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bound — certain
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mate — a partner
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — the season
  8. perch — the fish
  9. mate — to breed
  10. rest — a break
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mate — a friend
  19. clip — to cut
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rest — what's left
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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