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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. clip — to cut
  7. track — to keep track
  8. plane — a tool
  9. craft — a skill
  10. track — a path
  11. wax — to grow
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. track — a song
  17. cell — a phone
  18. kick — in football
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. clip — for paper
  24. craft — boats

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