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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fork — in a road
  4. spell — magic
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. clip — for paper
  8. spell — letters
  9. pass — a permit
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. row — a line
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. prune — to trim
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. clip — to cut
  16. spring — the season
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spring — of water
  24. row — a quarrel

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