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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pound — a weight
  4. dip — to sink
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. club — for golf
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cue — a hint
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. club — a group
  18. file — a line of people
  19. clip — for paper
  20. file — a document
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. file — a tool
  24. club — for dancing

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