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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 120 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mark — a grade
  8. clip — to cut
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mark — a trace
  13. band — a ring
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — for paper
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. sharp — clever
  20. band — a music group
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. rest — a break

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