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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. last — to go on
  3. craft — boats
  4. march — the month
  5. kick — in football
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. last — finally
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — for paper
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. last — final
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. march — music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kid — to tease
  17. tear — to rip
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kid — child
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. craft — a skill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. craft — a handicraft

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