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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. sharp — clever
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chip — to eat
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. tear — to rip
  16. ground — a position
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. wake — a trail
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. ground — the earth
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. chip — for betting
  24. clip — to cut

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