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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bass — the fish
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. fine — high quality
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bass — low music
  10. fine — all right
  11. capital — money
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. capital — a city
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. cell — in biology

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