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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. present — a gift
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. clip — for paper
  6. track — a path
  7. cue — a signal
  8. present — the time now
  9. cue — for pool
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mate — a friend
  15. face — part of the head
  16. track — a song
  17. mine — for digging
  18. face — to confront
  19. mate — a partner
  20. present — there
  21. track — to keep track
  22. face — to point toward
  23. mate — to breed
  24. clip — to cut

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