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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bulb — for light
  7. prune — to trim
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. clip — for paper
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. scale — in music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. last — finally
  23. scale — size or range
  24. clip — to cut

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