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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. clip — a video
  3. mark — a trace
  4. spell — letters
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. mark — a grade
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. shower — to wash
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. capital — money
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. rest — what's left
  16. spell — a short time
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rest — what's left
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. capital — a city
  22. shower — rain
  23. spell — magic
  24. mark — to pay attention

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