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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. tear — from crying
  3. season — of the year
  4. pound — a weight
  5. spell — letters
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — a signal
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. cue — for pool
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. spell — a short time
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pitch — completely
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. season — in sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spell — magic

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