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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. dip — to sink
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. mine — for digging
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. vault — a safe
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. clip — for paper

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