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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. tear — to rip
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. craft — boats
  7. cap — of ice
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. bat — the animal
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cue — a hint
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cue — a signal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cue — for pool
  24. rash — on the skin

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