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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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. kick — a thrill
  4. clip — to cut
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. club — a group
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. land — to come down
  14. spring — a coil
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. spring — the season
  17. club — for golf
  18. spring — of water
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. club — for dancing
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. kick — in football

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