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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. shower — rain
  3. clip — for paper
  4. squash — to crush
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. mate — to breed
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — to wash
  11. sharp — clever
  12. squash — the sport
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. clip — to cut

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