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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 120 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rock — music
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. rock — a stone
  15. pitch — completely
  16. mine — for digging
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bear — the animal
  23. fall — to drop
  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