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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. march — the month
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. clip — for paper
  9. perch — the fish
  10. shower — rain
  11. game — wild animals
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. clip — to cut
  18. game — a match
  19. hand — in cards
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. shower — to wash
  24. lie — to recline

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