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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. field — farmland
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bear — the animal
  5. field — a subject
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. branch — a division
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pop — music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. field — for sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. last — finally
  19. last — final
  20. pop — soda
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. last — to go on
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. bear — the animal

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