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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. file — a document
  4. spell — a short time
  5. file — a line of people
  6. spring — of water
  7. ground — a position
  8. spring — the season
  9. deal — to handle
  10. spell — letters
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. ground — crushed
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. file — a tool
  19. clip — to cut
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spell — magic
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pass — to spend time

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