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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. roll — a cake
  3. spell — magic
  4. roll — a list
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. spell — a short time
  8. march — the month
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rock — a stone
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. clip — for paper
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — music
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. spell — letters
  24. clip — to cut

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