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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. clip — a video
  3. wind — moving air
  4. season — in sport
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — the time now
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. ground — the earth
  13. season — of the year
  14. clip — for paper
  15. present — there
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — to cut
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. ground — crushed
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pass — a permit
  24. patient — a sick person

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