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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. pass — a permit
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. cold — not warm
  10. swing — music
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mate — a partner
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cold — an illness
  18. clip — for paper
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bowl — to roll

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