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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cap — a lid
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. clip — to cut
  5. shower — to wash
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. perch — the fish
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. cap — of ice
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. shower — rain
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cap — a hat
  24. deal — to handle

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