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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. tear — to rip
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. march — the month
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stem — to come from
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pop — music
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. current — electric
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stem — a stem cell

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