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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rock — music
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. clip — to cut
  12. season — in sport
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. season — of the year
  17. pound — a weight
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. rock — a stone
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bore — gave birth

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