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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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. perch — for a bird
  4. clip — for paper
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. fall — to drop
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fall — to drop
  10. face — part of the head
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. ball — a great time
  13. perch — the fish
  14. shower — rain
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. face — to point toward
  17. shower — to wash
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. ball — a dance
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. face — to confront
  23. fall — the season
  24. ball — a round shape

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