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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. key — the most important part
  4. row — a line
  5. suit — to fit
  6. suit — in cards
  7. can — to be able to
  8. key — in music
  9. key — for a lock
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. suit — clothes
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. clip — to cut
  19. can — a tin
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. can — a tin
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cold — the Cold War

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