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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. file — a tool
  5. last — to go on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. file — a line of people
  9. swing — to play on
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wind — moving air
  13. swing — music
  14. spring — of water
  15. clip — for paper
  16. file — a document
  17. swing — in golf
  18. spring — a coil
  19. lie — to recline
  20. last — finally
  21. spring — the season
  22. clip — to cut
  23. deal — to handle
  24. last — final

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