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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. clip — to cut
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. clip — for paper
  8. tear — from crying
  9. squash — the sport
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. mate — a friend
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. tear — to rip
  18. track — a path
  19. mate — a partner
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. mate — to breed
  22. squash — to crush
  23. land — ground
  24. calf — a young animal

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