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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. capital — money
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. tube — the underground
  9. clip — to cut
  10. capital — a city
  11. spell — letters
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a plant
  15. spell — magic
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tube — a container
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bear — the animal
  22. root — of a word
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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