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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. object — an aim
  4. cold — not warm
  5. clip — to cut
  6. root — of a plant
  7. season — in sport
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cold — an illness
  10. season — of the year
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. drill — army training
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — to protest
  18. drill — a practice
  19. vault — a safe
  20. drill — the tool
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. clip — for paper

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