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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — to breed
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. game — wild animals
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wound — an injury
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. game — a match
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chip — to eat
  21. tube — the underground
  22. vault — a safe
  23. chip — for betting
  24. rash — a series

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