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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 120 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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. object — a thing
  5. hand — help
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — for paper
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. hand — in cards
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — an aim
  24. hand — part of the body

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