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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. rash — a series
  5. race — humankind
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. content — the amount
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. race — a contest
  11. stem — to come from
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. race — the arms race
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rash — hasty
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. content — happy
  24. stem — a stem cell

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