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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. capital — a city
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. clip — to cut
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. board — a committee
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. capital — money
  13. shower — rain
  14. clip — for paper
  15. squash — to crush
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. lean — thin
  19. board — to get on
  20. lean — to bend
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. shower — to wash
  24. squash — the sport

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