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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. present — the time now
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. present — a gift
  6. ground — crushed
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wake — a trail
  9. track — to keep track
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. present — there
  12. foot — a measure
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. clip — to cut
  18. track — a song
  19. cell — a phone
  20. ground — a position
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. track — a path
  23. cell — in biology
  24. ground — the earth

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