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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. chest — of your body
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rush — hurry
  5. chip — to eat
  6. face — to confront
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cap — of ice
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cap — a lid
  14. prune — to trim
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — hasty
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. chip — for betting
  23. clip — for paper
  24. cap — a hat

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