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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. track — to keep track
  6. pitch — completely
  7. press — newspapers
  8. track — a path
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cold — not warm
  14. track — a song
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stem — to come from
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bear — the animal
  21. hand — help
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. clip — for paper

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