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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. content — the amount
  9. clip — for paper
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. chair — a leader
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. stem — to come from
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wound — an injury
  18. content — happy
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. wound — an injury
  21. root — of a word
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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