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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. content — the amount
  3. cue — for pool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mug — to rob
  6. cue — a signal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cue — a hint
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mug — a face
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. saw — the tool
  18. content — happy
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mug — a cup
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stem — a stem cell

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