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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. chest — of your body
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mug — a face
  10. game — a match
  11. clip — for paper
  12. ground — a position
  13. mug — a cup
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mug — to rob
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. present — a gift
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ground — crushed
  22. chest — a box
  23. clip — to cut
  24. spell — letters

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