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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pop — music
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. current — happening now
  8. file — a line of people
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. file — a tool
  14. current — of water
  15. pop — soda
  16. wind — moving air
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. current — electric
  20. file — a document
  21. pop — to visit
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bark — to shout

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