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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. content — happy
  3. clip — to cut
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. clip — for paper
  6. net — in sport
  7. rule — a law
  8. scale — in music
  9. net — after costs
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rule — government
  13. content — the amount
  14. key — the most important part
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — an aim
  19. key — in music
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. key — for a lock
  23. net — for catching
  24. scale — size or range

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