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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. rock — music
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. face — to confront
  8. rush — hurry
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. branch — a division
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. face — part of the head
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. clip — for paper
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. clip — to cut
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. face — to point toward
  22. rock — a stone
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rush — to hurry

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