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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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. wound — an injury
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. track — a song
  9. kid — child
  10. field — for sport
  11. clip — to cut
  12. field — farmland
  13. fine — all right
  14. track — to keep track
  15. ball — a great time
  16. field — a subject
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. fine — high quality
  22. track — a path
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. clip — for paper

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