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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. game — wild animals
  3. ground — a position
  4. fall — the season
  5. ground — the earth
  6. clip — to cut
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. stand — to bear
  16. game — a match
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bass — the fish
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fall — to drop
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bass — low music
  24. calf — a young animal

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