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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. craft — a skill
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. craft — boats
  24. pitch — completely

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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