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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. last — to go on
  3. current — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. clip — for paper
  6. current — electric
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. season — in sport
  9. last — final
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. spring — the season
  12. pitch — completely
  13. shower — rain
  14. dip — to sink
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. current — happening now
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. shower — to wash
  22. last — finally
  23. clip — to cut
  24. spring — of water

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