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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. clip — for paper
  8. key — the most important part
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. key — for a lock
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. key — in music
  16. spring — of water
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. row — a line
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. trunk — of a tree

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