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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. present — a gift
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. present — there
  6. track — a path
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bat — the animal
  9. track — a song
  10. degree — an amount
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fork — in a road
  17. present — the time now
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. clip — for paper
  21. track — to keep track
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. clip — to cut
  24. degree — from a university

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