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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. craft — boats
  3. fine — all right
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. craft — a skill
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ground — crushed
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. kid — child
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. ground — a position
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. track — to keep track
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kid — to tease
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — a song
  22. fine — high quality
  23. track — a path
  24. ground — the earth

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