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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. suit — to fit
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. bass — low music
  7. suit — in cards
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. suit — clothes
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. rock — a stone
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. rock — music
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. field — for sport
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bass — the fish
  20. field — farmland
  21. net — in sport
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. field — a subject
  24. clip — for paper

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