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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bound — certain
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bound — tied together
  8. pop — music
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pop — soda
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. kick — in football
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bound — obliged
  22. pop — to visit
  23. clip — for paper
  24. kick — a thrill

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