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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. clip — a video
  3. present — there
  4. clip — to cut
  5. track — a path
  6. bore — to tire
  7. last — to go on
  8. clip — for paper
  9. net — for catching
  10. present — a gift
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. last — final
  15. track — a song
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — in sport
  18. bore — to drill
  19. band — a music group
  20. last — finally
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. track — to keep track
  24. season — to add flavour

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