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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. game — wild animals
  3. swing — music
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. prune — to trim
  7. swing — to play on
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. present — the time now
  12. pound — a weight
  13. present — a gift
  14. clip — for paper
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. swing — in golf
  17. chip — for betting
  18. present — there
  19. clip — to cut
  20. game — a match
  21. chip — to eat
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. prune — the fruit

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