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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 124 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pop — soda
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rock — a stone
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. clip — to cut
  9. foot — a measure
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. clip — for paper
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rock — music
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pop — music
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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