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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 124 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cap — of ice
  7. branch — a division
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. cap — a lid
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. content — happy
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bear — the animal
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. clip — to cut
  21. content — the amount
  22. chip — to eat
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cap — a hat

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