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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mate — a friend
  3. land — a country
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fork — in a road
  7. game — a match
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. land — to come down
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. land — ground
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. mate — a partner
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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