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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. lie — to recline
  4. bass — the fish
  5. squash — to crush
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bass — low music
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. squash — the sport
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. dip — to sink
  24. leaves — to go away

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