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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. present — a gift
  3. band — a ring
  4. clip — to cut
  5. suit — in cards
  6. suit — clothes
  7. present — there
  8. clip — for paper
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. staff — a stick
  11. present — the time now
  12. kid — child
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. capital — money
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. suit — to fit
  17. band — a music group
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. staff — employees
  21. kid — to tease
  22. staff — employees
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. capital — a city

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