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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. clip — for paper
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. track — a path
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. track — a song
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. track — to keep track
  16. pit — a hole
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. capital — money
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wake — a trail
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bulb — of a plant

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