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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. squash — to crush
  3. net — after costs
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — there
  8. net — for catching
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — a short time
  11. march — the month
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. spell — magic
  16. clip — for paper
  17. net — in sport
  18. clip — to cut
  19. present — the time now
  20. squash — the sport
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. dip — to sink
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. dip — a sauce

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