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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. court — of a king
  3. wake — a trail
  4. last — to go on
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bear — the animal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. last — finally
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — to get on
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — final
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. court — of law
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. court — for sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. prune — to trim

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