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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. hand — in cards
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rule — government
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. file — a tool
  7. bulb — for light
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rule — a law
  11. kid — child
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bulb — for light
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. file — a document
  18. dip — to sink
  19. file — a line of people
  20. hand — help
  21. kid — to tease
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. clip — to cut

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