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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. tube — a container
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. spring — of water
  6. bear — the animal
  7. tube — the underground
  8. season — of the year
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. season — in sport
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. clip — to cut
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spring — a coil
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. degree — from a university
  18. spring — the season
  19. bear — the animal
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. clip — for paper
  23. deal — to handle
  24. season — to add flavour

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