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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. ground — a position
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kick — in football
  6. game — a match
  7. wound — an injury
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — for paper
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. ground — the earth
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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